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THE HEROES 


I 













ftftacmtllan'0 pocket American auto iEttjgltjsf) Classics. 


A Series of English Texts, edited for use in Secondary Schools , 
with Critical Introductions, Notes, etc. 


l6mo. Cloth. 25c. each. 


Addison’s Sir Roger de Coverley. 
Browning’s Shorter Poems. 

Browning, Mrs., Poems (Selected). 
Burke’s Speech on Conciliation. 
Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. 
Byron’s Shorter Poems. 

Carlyle’s Essay on Burns. 

Chaucer’s Prologue and Knight’s Tale. 
Coleridge’s The Ancient Mariner. 
Cooper’s The Deerslayer. 

Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans. 
De Quincey’s Gonfessions of an 
English Opium-Eater. 

Dryden’s Palamon and Arcite. 

Early American Orations, 1760-1824. 
Edwards’ (Jonathan) Sermons. 

Eliot’s Silas Marner. 

Epoch-making Papers in U. S. History. 
Franklin’s Autobiography. 

Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield. 
Hawthorne’s Twice-told Tales (Selec- 
tions from). 

Irving’s Life of Goldsmith. 

Irving’s The Alhambra. 

Irving’s Sketch Book. 

Longfellow’s Evangeline. 

Lowell’s The Vision of Sir Launfal. 
Macaulay’s Essay on Addison. 
Macaulay’s Essay on Hastings. 
Macaulay’s Essay on Lord Clive. 
Macaulay’s Essay on Milton. 


Macaulay’s Lays of Ancient Rome. 
Macaulay’s Life of Samuel Johnson. 
Milton’s Comus and Other Poems. 
Milton’s Paradise Lost, Bks. I and 11. 
Old English Ballads. 

Palgrave’s Golden Treasury. 
Plutarch’s Lives (Ca;sar, Brutus, and 
Mark Antony). 

Poe’s Poems. 

Poe’s Prose Tales (Selections from). 
Pope’s Homer’s Iliad. 

Ruskin’s Sesame and Lilies. 

Scott’s Ivanhoe. 

Scott’s Lady of the Lake. 

Scott’s Lay of the Last Minstrel. 
Scott’s Marmion. 

Shakespeare’s As You Like It. 
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. 
Shakespeare’s Macbeth. 
Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. 
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. 
Shelley and Keats: Poems. 

Southern Poets: Selections. 

Spenser’s Faerie Queene, Book I. 
Stevenson’s Treasure Island. 
Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. 
Tennyson’s The Princess. 
Tennyson’s Shorter Poems. 
Wooiman’s Journal. 

Wordsworth’s Shorter Poems. 


OTHERS TO FOLLOW. 













CHARLES KINGSLEY. 











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I* 







THE HEROES 

OR 

REEK FAIRY TALES 


FOR MY CHILDREN 


BY 

CHARLES KINGSLEY 

U 

EDITED FOR SCHOOL USE BY 


CHARLES A. McMURRY 


Nefo gOv?t 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1904 


All rights reserved 


LIBRARY Of OONGffFSS 
Two Ooples ftfir.wved 

AUG 25 1904 


Copyright Entry 

o^a j'S'-fq 0 If 

CLAS& & XXo. No. 

fro 8 i 

1 COPY 8 1 



Copyright, 1904, 

By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 


Set up and electrotyped. Published August, 1904. 


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Norioootr ^rea* 

J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U.8.A. 


TO 


jftlg Cj)tfoten 

ROSE, MAURICE, AND MARY 

A LITTLE PRESENT 
OF OLD GREEK FAIRY TALES 






PREFACE 


My dear Children, 

Some of you have heard already of the old Greeks ; 
and all of you, as you grow up, will hear more and 
more of them. Those of you who are boys will, per- 
haps, spend a great deal of time in reading Greek 
books ; and the girls, though they may not learn 
Greek, will be sure to come across a great many 
stories taken from Greek history, and to see, I may 
say every day, things which we should not have had 
if it had not been for these old Greeks. You can 
hardly find a well-written book which has not in it 
Greek names, and words, and proverbs; you cannot 
walk through a great town without passing Greek 
buildings ; you cannot go into a well-furnished room 
without seeing Greek statues and ornaments, even 
Greek patterns of furniture and paper; so strangely 
have these old Greeks left their mark behind them 
upon this modern world in which we now live. And 


PREFACE 


yiii 

as yon grow up, and read more and more, you will 
find that we owe to these old Greeks the beginnings 
of all our mathematics and geometry — that is, the 
science and knowledge of numbers, and of the shapes 
of things, and of the forces which make things move 
and stand at rest; and the beginnings of our geog- 
raphy and astronomy ; and of our laws, and freedom, 
and politics — that is, the science of how to rule a 
country and make it peaceful and strong. And we 
owe to them, too, the beginning of our logic — that is, 
the study of words and of reasoning ; and of our meta- 
physics — that is, the study of our own thoughts and 
souls. And last of all, they made their language so 
beautiful that foreigners used to take to it instead of 
their own ; and at last Greek became the common lan- 
guage of educated people all over the old world, from 
Persia and Egypt even to Spain and Britain. And 
therefore it was that the New Testament was written 
in Greek, that it might be read and understood by all 
the nations of the Bom an empire ; so that, next to the 
Jews, and the Bible which the Jews handed down to 
us, we owe more to these old Greeks than to any 
people upon earth. 

Now you must remember one thing — that “ Greeks ” 
was not their real name. They called themselves 


PREFACE 


IX 


always “Hellens,” but the Romans miscalled them 
Greeks ; and we have taken that wrong name from 
the Romans — it would take a long time to tell you 
why. They were made up of many tribes and many 
small separate states ; and when you hear in this book 
of Minuai, and Athenians, and other such names, you 
must remember that they were all different tribes and 
peoples of the one great Hellen race, who lived in 
what we now call Greece, in the islands of the Archi- 
pelago, and along the coast of Asia Minor (Ionia, as 
they call it), from the Hellespont to Rhodes, and had 
afterwards colonies and cities in Sicily, and South 
Italy (which was called Great Greece), and along the 
shores of the Black Sea, at Sinope, and Kertch, and 
at Sevastopol. And after that, again, they spread 
under Alexander the Great, and conquered Egypt, 
and Syria, and Persia, and the whole East. But that 
was many hundred years after my stories; for then 
there were no Greeks on the Black Sea shores, nor in 
Sicily, or Italy, or anywhere but in Greece and in 
Ionia. And if you are puzzled by the names of places 
in this book, you must take the maps and find them 
out. It will be a pleasanter way of learning geog- 
raphy than out of a dull lesson-book. 

Now, I love these old Hellens heartily ; and I should 


X 


PREFACE 


be very ungrateful to them if I did not, considering 
all that they have taught me ; and they seem to me 
like brothers, though they have all been dead and 
gone many hundred years ago. So as you must learn 
about them, whether you choose or not, I wish to be 
the first to introduce you to them, and to say, “ Come 
hither, children, at this blessed Christmas time, when 
all God’s creatures should rejoice together, and bless 
Him who redeemed them all. Come and see old 
friends of mine, whom I knew long ere you were born. 
They are come to visit us at Christmas, out of the 
world where all live to God; and to tell you some of 
their old fairy tales, which they loved when they were 
young like you.” 

For nations begin at first by being children like 
you, though they are made up of grown men. They 
are children at first like you — men and women with 
children’s hearts ; frank, and affectionate, and full of 
trust, and teachable, and loving to see and learn all 
the wonders round them ; and greedy also, too often, 
and passionate and silly, as children are. 

Thus these old Greeks were teachable, and learnt 
from all the nations round. From the Phoenicians 
they learnt shipbuilding, and some say letters beside ; 
and from the Assyrians they learnt painting, and 


PREFACE 


XI 


carving, and building in wood and stone; and from 
the Egyptians they learnt astronomy, and many things 
which you would not understand. In this they were 
like our own forefathers the Northmen, of whom you 
love to hear, who, though they were wild and rough 
themselves, were humble and glad to learn from every 
one. Therefore God rewarded these Greeks, as He 
rewarded our forefathers, and made them wiser than 
the people who taught them in everything they learnt ; 
for He loves to see men and children open-hearted, 
and willing to be taught ; and to him who uses what 
he has got, He gives more and more day by day. So 
these Greeks grew wise and powerful, and wrote 
poems which will live till the world’s end, which you 
must read for yourselves some day, in English at 
least, if not in Greek. And they learnt to carve 
statues, and build temples, which are still among the 
wonders of the world; and many another wondrous 
thing God taught them, for which we are the wiser 
this day. 

For you must not fancy, children, that because these 
old Greeks were heathens, therefore God did not care 
for them, and taught them nothing. 

The Bible tells us that it was not so, but that God’s 
mercy is over all His works, and that He understands 


Xll 


PREFACE 


the hearts of all people, and fashions all their works. 
And St. Paul told these old Greeks in after times, 
when they had grown wicked and fallen low, that 
they ought to have known better, because they were 
God’s offspring, as their own poets had said ; and that 
the good God had put them where they were, to seek 
the Lord, and feel after Him, and find Him, though 
He was not far from any one of them. And Clement 
of Alexandria, a great Father of the Church, who was 
as wise as he was good, said that God had sent down 
Philosophy to the Greeks from heaven, as He sent 
down the Gospel to the Jews. 

For Jesus Christ, remember, is the Light who lights 
every man who comes into the world. And no one 
can think a right thought, or feel a right feeling, or 
understand the real truth of anything in earth and 
heaven, unless the good Lord Jesus teaches him by 
His Spirit, which gives man understanding. 

But these Greeks, as St. Paul told them, forgot 
what God had taught them, and, though they were 
God’s offspring, worshipped idols of wood and stone, 
and fell at last into sin and shame, and then, of course, 
into cowardice and slavery, till they perished out of 
that beautiful land which God had given them for so 
many years. 


PREFACE 


Xlll 


For, like all nations who have left anything behind 
them, beside mere mounds of earth, they believed at 
first in the One True God who made all heaven and 
earth. But after a while, like all other nations, they 
began to worship other gods, or rather angels and 
spirits, who (so they fancied) lived about their land. 
Zeus, the Father of gods and men (who was some dim 
remembrance of the blessed true God), and Hera his 
wife, and Phoebus Apollo the Sun-god, and Pallas 
Athene who taught men wisdom and useful arts, and 
Aphrodite the Queen of Beauty, and Poseidon the 
Ruler of the Sea, and Hephaistos the King of the 
Fire, who taught men to work in metals. And they 
honoured the Gods of the Rivers, and the Nymph- 
maids, who they fancied lived in the caves, and the 
fountains, and the glens of the forest, and all beau- 
tiful wild places. And they honoured the Erinnyes, 
the dreadful sisters, who, they thought, haunted guilty 
men until their sins were purged away. And many 
other dreams they had, which parted the One God 
into many; and they said, too, that these gods did 
things which would be a shame and sin for any man 
to do. And when their philosophers arose, and told 
them that God was One, they would not listen, but 
loved their idols, and their wicked idol feasts, till they 


XIV 


PREFACE 


all came to ruin. But we will talk of such sad things 
no more. 

But, at the time of which this little book speaks, 
they had not fallen as low as that. They worshipped 
no idols, as far as I can find; and they still believed 
in the last six of the ten commandments, and knew 
well what was right and what was wrong. And they 
believed (and that was what gave them courage) that 
the gods loved men, and taught them, and that with- 
out the gods men were sure to come to ruin. And in 
that they were right enough, as we know — more 
right even than they thought; for without God we 
can do nothing, and all wisdom comes from Him. 

Now, you must not think of them in this book as 
learned men, living in great cities, such as they were 
afterwards, when they wrought all their beautiful 
works, but as country people, living in farms and 
walled villages, in a simple, hard-working way ; so that 
the greatest kings and heroes cooked their own meals, 
and thought it no shame, and made their own ships and 
weapons, and fed and harnessed their own horses; 
and the queens worked with their maid-servants, and 
did all the business of the house, and spun, and wove, 
and embroidered, and made their husbands’ clothes 
and their own. So that a man was honoured among 


PREFACE 


xv 


them, not because he happened to be rich, but accord- 
ing to his skill, and his strength, and courage, and the 
number of things which he could do. For they were 
but grown-up children, though they were right noble 
children too; and it was with them as it is now at 
school — the strongest and cleverest boy, though he 
be poor, leads all the rest. 

Now, while they were young and simple they loved 
fairy tales, as you do now. All nations do so when 
they are young: our old forefathers did, and called 
their stories “ Sagas.” I will read you some of them 
some day — some of the Eddas, and the Voluspa, and 
Beowulf, and the noble old Romances. The old Arabs, 
again, had their tales, which we now call the “ Ara- 
bian Nights.” The old Romans had theirs, and they 
called them “ Fabulse,” from which our word “ fable ” 
comes; but the old Hellens called theirs “ Muthoi,” 
from which our new word “myth” is taken. But 
next to those old Romances, which were written in 
the Christian middle age, there are no fairy tales like 
these old Greek ones, for beauty, and wisdom, and 
truth, and for making children love noble deeds, and 
trust in God to help them through. 

Now, why have I called this book “The Heroes”? 
Because that was the name which the Hellens gave 


XVI 


PREFACE 


to men who were brave and skilful, and dare do more 
than other men. At first, I think, that was all it 
meant: but after a time it came to mean something 
more ; it came to mean men who helped their country ; 
men in those old times, when the country was half- 
wild, who killed fierce beasts and evil men, and 
drained swamps, and founded towns, and therefore, 
after they were dead, were honoured, because they 
had left their country better than they found it. And 
we call such a man a hero in English to this day, and 
call it a “ heroic ” thing to suffer pain and grief, that 
we may do good to our fellow-men. We may all do 
that, my children, boys and girls alike ; and we ought 
to do it, for it is easier now than ever, and safer, and 
the path more clear. But you shall hear how the 
Hellens said their heroes worked three thousand years 
ago. The stories are not all true, of course, nor half 
of them ; you are not simple enough to fancy that ; 
but the meaning of them is true, and true for ever, 
and that is, — “ Do right, and God will help you.” 

Farley Court, 

Advent, 1855. 


t 


CONTENTS 

STORY I. —PERSEUS 

PART PAGE 

I. How Perseus and his Mother came to Seriphos 1 
II. How Perseus vowed a Rash Vow ... 9 

III. How Perseus slew the Gorgon .... 26 

IV. How Perseus came to the ASthiops ... 41 

V. How Perseus came Home again .... 69 

STORY II. — THE ARGONAUTS 

I. How the Centaur trained the Heroes on 

Pelion 67 

II. How Jason lost his Sandal in Anauros . . 80 

III. How they built the Ship “Argo” in Iolcos . 95 

IV. How the Argonauts sailed to Colchis . . 102 

Y. How the Argonauts were driven into the 

Unknown Sea 141 

VI. What was the End of the Heroes . . . 182 


xvii 


xviii CONTENTS 

* 


STORY III.— THESEUS 


PART 

I. 

How Theseus 

LIFTED THE STONE . 


PAGE 

. 187 

II. 

How Theseus 

SLEW 

THE DEVOURERS OF MEN 

. 195 

III. 

How Theseus 

SLEW 

the Minotaur 

• • 

. 235 

HH 

<1 

How Theseus 

FELL 

by his Pride . 


. 243 


[I owe an apology to the few scholars who may happen to 
read this hasty jeu d'esprit, for the inconsistent method in 
which I have spelt Greek names. The rule which I have tried 
to follow has been this : when the word has been hopelessly 
Latinised, as “Phoebus” has been, I have left it as it usually 
stands ; but in other cases I have tried to keep the plain Greek 
spelling, except when it would have seemed pedantic, or when, 
as in the word “Tiphus,” I should have given an altogether 
wrong notion of the sound of the word. It has been a choice 
of difficulties, which has been forced on me by our strange 
habit of introducing boys to the Greek myths, not in their 
original shape, but in a Roman disguise.] 



w 




CHARLES KINGSLEY 


Charles Kingsley’s father was an English clergy- 
man of an old and honoured family, and his early life 
was spent in country parishes where his father was 
rector. He was born in Devonshire, but when the 
child was quite young, the father was given a living 
in Nottinghamshire. Here the family lived in Bar- 
nack Rectory, an interesting fourteenth-century house 
said to have a ghost chamber called Button Caps. 
Kingsley told his own children in after life that he 
had seen too many ghosts at Barnack to have much 
respect for them. Button Cap “ lived in the great 
north room at Barnack. I knew him well. He used 
to walk across the room in flopping slippers, and turn 
over the leaves of books to find the missing deed 
whereof he had defrauded the orphan and the widow. 
He was an old Rector of Barnack. Everybody heard 
him who chose. Nobody ever saw him ; but, in spite 
of that, he wore a flowered dressing-gown and a cap 


XXII 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


with a button on it. . . . Sometimes he turned cross 
and played Poltergeist , as the Germans say, rolling the 
barrels in the cellar about with surprising noise, which 
was undignified. So he was always ashamed of him- 
self, and put them all back in their places before 
morning. I suppose he is gone now. Ghosts hate 
mortally a certificated National Schoolmaster, and 
(being a vain and peevish generation) as soon as 
people give up believing in them go away in a huff, 
or perhaps some one had been laying phosphoric 
paste about, and he ate thereof, and ran down to the 
pond and drank till he burst. He was rats ! ” 

Kingsley’s mother was a remarkable woman, full of 
imagination and enthusiasm. She loved nature, and 
from her the boy acquired an interest in science that 
lasted all of his life. The scenery at that time about 
Barnack was wild and interesting. As his father was 
fond of hunting, the boy soon learned to enjoy the 
chase. As soon as he could ride, he was often mounted 
upon the keeper’s horse and allowed to bring home 
the well-filled game-bag. Upon the Fens he could 
see many birds and butterflies, — most interesting to a 
naturalist, — and the low, flat scenery delighted him. 
“ They have a beauty of their own,” he said in later 
life, “ those great Fens ; a beauty as of the sea, of 


CHARLES KINGSLEY xxiii 

boundless expanse and freedom. Overhead the arch 
of heaven spreads more ample than elsewhere, and 
that vastness gives such cloudlands, such sunrises, 
such sunsets as can be seen nowhere else within these 
isles.” His maternal grandfather had been for many 
years a judge in the West Indies, and his stories of 
tropical scenes so delighted the boy that he resolved 
some day to visit these islands, — a desire that was 
fulfilled many years later. 

In 1830, when Charles was eleven years old, his 
father returned to Devonshire and settled in the rec- 
tory of Clovelly, a sea town. The contrast between 
the flat country of the Fens and the rocky Devon- 
shire shore made a strong impression upon the boy. 
Here he found many new flowers, birds, and insects. 
The dangerous life of the fisherman and the courage 
with which dangers were met appealed to the rector 
and his family. “ When the herring fleet put to sea, 
whatever the weather might be, Mr. Kingsley wit! 
his wife and boys would start down to the quay and 
give a short parting service, at which ‘men who 
worked’ and ‘women who wept’ would join in sing- 
ing the 121st Psalm out of the old Prayer Book ver- 
sion, with the fervour of those who have death and 
danger staring them in the face.” These scenes as 


XXIV 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


remembered in after life suggested bis poem “The 
Three Fishers.” 

In 1831 Charles went to school at Clifton. His 
tutor describes him as an “ affectionate - boy, gentle, 
and fond of quiet, capable of making remarkable 
translations of Latin verse into English, and a pas- 
sionate lover of natural history.” From Clifton he 
entered a grammar school, with a son of Coleridge 
the poet as head master. A school friend here s&ys 
of him, “ For all his good qualities, Charles was not 
popular as a schoolboy. He knew too much, and his 
mind was generally on a higher level than ours, 
Then too, though strong and active, Charles was not 
an expert at games. He never made a ‘ score ’ at 
cricket; but in mere feats of agility and adventure 
he was among the foremost. . . . For the study of 
language he had no great liking. Later on Greek and 
Latin interested him because of their subject-matter ; 
but for classics, in the schoolboy sense of the term, 
he had no turn. He would work hard at them by fits 
and starts, — on the eve of an examination, for in- 
stance, — but his industry was intermittent and against 
the grain. His passion was for natural science and 
for art.” 

When Kingsley was about eighteen years of age, 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


XXV 


his father became rector of Chelsea. The change 
from the freedom of country life to life in London 
was very unpleasant to the boy. He now entered 
King’s College, London, where he worked hard for 
two years, walking there and back from Chelsea every 
day. As his parents were busy with their parish 
work, he was thrown upon books for entertainment. 
Among his favourite books were Percy’s “ Reliques,” 
Sir Thomas Malory’s “ Morte d’ Arthur,” and Spenser’s 
“ Faerie Queen,” though he read everything he could 
lay his hands on. 

From King’s College Kingsley entered Magdalene 
College, Cambridge, where he soon gained a scholar- 
ship. He wrote to his father, “ You will be delighted 
to hear that I am first in classics, and mathematics 
also, at the examinations, which has not happened in 
the college for several years. I shall bring home 
prizes and a very decent portion of honour; the King’s 
College men are delighted.” 

Kingsley made many friends at the University. A 
friend writes of him : “ He was very popular amongst 
all classes of his companions; he mixed freely with 
all, — the studious, the idle, the clever, and the reverse; 
a most agreeable companion, full of information of 
all kinds and abounding in conversation. Whatever 


XXVI 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


he engaged in, he threw his whole energy into; he 
read hard at times, but enjoyed sports of all kinds, 
and was soon in the Magdalene Boat, which was in 
that year high on the river.” His strength at this 
time was great. He walked one day from Cambridge 
to London, fifty-two miles, starting early and reach- 
ing London by 9 p.m. For many years he would walk 
twenty or twenty-five miles “ simply for refreshment.” 
“ I have walked ten miles,” he says, “ down the Cam 
to-day and back pike-fishing. My panacea for stu- 
pidity and ‘over mentation ’ is a day in the roaring 
Fen wind.” 

After leaving Cambridge, Kingsley read for Holy 
Orders and was made curate at Eversley. This parish 
on the borders of Old Windsor Forest was surrounded 
with moorlands covered with young forests of fir trees. 
The population was scattered. Kingsley writes of 
them : “ The clod of these parts is the descendant of 
many generations of broom squires and deer stealers ; 
the instinct of sport is strong within him still, though 
no more of the Queen’s deer are to be shot in the 
winter turnip fields, or, worse, caught by an apple- 
baited hook hung from an orchard bough. He now 
limits his aspirations to hares and pheasants. . . . 
Well, he has his faults and I have mine. But he 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


XXVll 


is a thorough good fellow nevertheless. Civil, con- 
tented, industrious, and often very handsome ; a far 
shrewder fellow too — owing to his dash of wild forest 
blood from gypsy, highwayman, and whatnot — than 
his bullet-headed and flaxen-polled cousin, the pure 
South Saxon of the chalk downs.” 

Kingsley soon obtained a strong influence over these 
people, which lasted through the thirty-three years of 
residence at Eversley. “ He could swing a flail with 
the threshers in the barn, turn his swath with the 
mowers in the meadow, pitch hay with the haymakers 
in the pasture. He knew every fox-earth on the 
moor, the i reedy hover’ of the pike, the still hole 
where the chub lay, and always had a kindly word for 
the huntsman or the old poacher. With the farmer he 
could discuss the rotation of crops ; with the labourer 
his hedging and ditching; and in giving sympathy he 
gained power.” 

After a year at Eversley, Kingsley was married. 
Through the influence of Lord Osborne, his brother-in- 
law, a small living was promised him in another par- 
ish, and he prepared to leave Eversley. But the living 
at Eversley becoming vacant at this time, the parish- 
ioners begged that their much-loved curate should be 
made their rector, and the request was granted. 


xxviii CHARLES KINGSLEY 

Just after leaving Cambridge, Kingsley began to 
write a life of St. Elizabeth. This was the first of 
the many books that have made the name of Charles 
Kingsley famous. He wrote several books for his 
own children, the first being “ The Heroes.” He was 
very fond of the Greek stories. “When I get into 
real human Greek life, I can burst out and rollick 
along in the joy of existence.” 

Kingsley was devoted to his wife and children, and 
their home life was delightful. He spent much time 
with his children and did everything possible to make 
them happy and strong. As the Rectory was built 
on low ground, some of the rooms were damp and 
gloomy, but the sunniest and largest were given to 
the children for nurseries. On a high point of land 
near the Rectory a little wooden hut was built for 
them, where “they kept books, and toys, and tea 
things, and spent long, happy days ; and there, when 
his parish work was done, he would join them, bring- 
ing them some fresh treasure picked in his walk, a 
choice wild flower or fern, and sometimes a rare 
beetle, a lizard, or a field mouse; ever waking up 
their sense of wonder, calling out their powers of 
observation, and teaching them, without any sense 
of effort upon lessons, out of God’s great green book.” 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


XXIX 


He was always ready to hear their troubles and to 
sympathise with them. “The griefs of children are 
to me most piteous ; a child over a broken toy is a 
sight I cannot bear.” 

In two of his books, written for his children, “Water 
Babies” and “Madam How and Lady Why,” the 
nature study is an important part. A visitor tells 
how one of the daughters, when a little girl, came 
running in one morning when the family was at 
breakfast, holding a most repulsive-looking worm in 
her hand, and exclaiming, “Oh, daddy, look at this 
delightful worm ! ” 

As Kingsley became known through his books and 
his work, many visitors came to the church and rec- 
tory of Eversley. His talks attracted many of the 
officers and soldiers from the near-by military post of 
Aldershot and school at Sandhurst. Many honours 
were given him by learned societies, both scientific 
and literary. In 1860 he was made professor of 
modern history at Cambridge. While here he gave 
private lectures to the Prince of Wales, now King 
Edward VII. Kingsley’s lectures were very popular 
with the students at Cambridge, and his withdrawal 
from the work after nine years was greatly regretted. 

When Kingsley was about fifty years of age, he 


XXX 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


made the visit to the West Indies that he had thought 
of as a child. He was delighted with the tropical 
scenery, the rare plants and fruits. His impressions 
of the voyage are given in “ At Last.” 

Just before the West Indian journey, Kingsley was 
appointed to the Canonry of Chester. Upon his 
return he entered upon the work with great enthu- 
siasm. Besides the daily service and the sermons, he 
organised a science class for young men, which proved 
so interesting that the numbers increased rapidly, and 
from it grew the Chester Natural History Society, 
with a membership of between five and six hundred. 

In 1873 Kingsley received a letter from Mr. Glad- 
stone : “ I have to propose to you, with the sanction 
of her Majesty, that in lieu of your canonry at Ches- 
ter, you should accept the vacant stall in Westminster 
Abbey. I am sorry to injure the people of Chester; 
but I must sincerely hope your voice will be heard 
within the Abbey, and in your own right.” The con- 
nection with the Abbey was very pleasing to Kingsley. 
“ It was,” he said, “ like coming suddenly into a large 
inheritance of unknown treasures.” 

The arduous work of the past few years had told 
upon Kingsley’s health. His son had just returned 
from Colorado, and now persuaded his father to make 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


XXXI 


a journey to America for rest and recreation. His 
oldest daughter, who had already spent some time in 
America with her brother, accompanied him. His 
letters to his wife tell of the progress of the journey. 

“ Staten Island , Feb. 12 : I have, thank God, noth- 
ing to say but what is interesting and hopeful. We 
got here yesterday afternoon, and am now writing in 
a blazing, sunny, south window, in a luxurious little 
room in a luxurious house, redolent of good tobacco 
and sweet walnut-wood smoke, looking out on a snow- 
covered lawn and trees, which, like the people, are all 
English with a difference. I have met with none but 
pleasant, clever people as yet, afloat or ashore. As 
for health, this air, as poor Thackeray said of it, is 
like champagne. Sea air and mountain air combined, 
days already an hour longer than in England, and a 
blazing hot sun and blue sky. It is a glorious coun- 
try, and I don’t wonder at the people being proud 
of it.” 

From Cambridge he writes : “ Here is a little haven 
of rest, where we arrived last night. Longfellow came 
to dinner, and we dine with him to-night. Yesterday, 
in Boston, dear old Whittier called on me, and we had 
a most loving and like-minded talk about the other 
world. He is an old saint. This morning I have 


XXX11 


Cfl ARLES KINGSLEY 


spent chiefly with Asa Gray and his plants, so that 
we are in good company. 

“New York was a great rattle, dining, and speechi- 
fying, and being received, and so has Boston been ; 
and the courtesy and generosity and compliments 
would really turn any one’s head who was not as 
disgusted with himself as I always (thank God) am. 
Salem was very interesting, being next to Plymouth, 
the Pilgrim Fathers’ town. People most intelligent, 
gentle, and animated. New England is, in winter, at 
least, the saddest country: all brown grass, ice-polished 
rocks sticking up through the copses, cedar scrub, low, 
swampy shores — an iron land which only iron people 
could have settled in. The people must have been 
heroes to make what they have of it. Now, under 
deep snow, it is dreadful. But the summer, they say, 
is semi-tropic, and that has kept them alive. And, 
indeed, already, though it is hard frost under foot, 
the sun is bright, and hot, and high, for we are in the 
latitude of Naples. I cannot tell you a thousandth 
part of all I’ve seen, or of all the kindness we have 
received, and I feel better than I have felt for years ; 
but Mr. - Longfellow and others warn me not to let 
this overstimulating climate tempt me to overwork. 
One feels ready to do anything, and then suddenly 
very tired.” 


CHARLES KINGSLEY xxxiii 

After a tour of Canada, Kingsley returned to Wash- 
ington. From there he went west, visiting Niagara, 
St. Louis, and other cities on his way to California. 
In May he writes : “ In the train, twenty miles from 
Cheyenne, 12.30 on Ascension day, 5500 feet above 
the sea. . . . Prairies more wonderful than I thought, 
— rolling gray grass, dwarf cactus, and yucca, ante- 
lope, prairie dog, buffalo skeletons, no birds, sadness 
as of a desert sea. Every one most kind, and a 
charming party.” 

The party consisted of eleven Americans and five 
Englishmen, and was planned by Mr. Cyrus Field 
and Mr. J. A. C. Gray of New York. Short stops 
were made at Salt Lake City, Virginia City, and Sac- 
ramento. A visit was made to the Yosemite, where 
on Whit-Sunday Kingsley gave a service and preached 
a short sermon on the psalm for the day. Then the 
big trees were seen, and the party went on to San 
Francisco. “ Safe at San Francisco after such adven- 
tures and such wonders in the Yosemite and the Big 
Trees. . . . All is more beautiful and wonderful 
than I expected — and oh, the flowers ! ” 

During the last few days of his stay in San Fran- 
cisco he caught a severe cold which developed into 
pleurisy. The doctor thought it better for him to 


XXXIV 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


leave the city as soon as possible, and he went at once 
to Denver. From here he went to Colorado Springs 
over the narrow-gauge railroad, which his son had 
helped to build four years before. Here he stayed 
for some time, growing stronger, and amusing himself 
naming the many flowers brought to him. In. July 
he was able to preach at the Episcopal Church at 
Colorado Springs. The church was crowded; many 
young Englishmen coming in twenty miles or more 
to hear him. Later he gave a lecture for the benefit 
of the church. “The place was very dear to him 
from the fact of his eldest son having been one of the 
first pioneers there.” From Glen Eyrie he writes: 
“ This is a wonderful spot ; such crags, pillars, caves, 
— red and grey, — a perfect thing in a stage scene ; 
and the flora, such a jumble, — cactus, yucca, poison 
sumach, and lovely strange flowers, mixed with Doug- 
las’ and Menzies’ pine, and eatable pifion, and those 
again with our own harebells and roses, and all sorts 
of English flowers.” 

It was during this visit in Colorado that he wrote 
“Lorraine.” On the 25th of July he started for 
England, eager to reach his much-loved home. He 
was not strong when he reached Eversley, and took 
up his work with too great vigour. There was much 


CHARLES KINGSLEY 


XXXV 


sickness in the parish, and he was out among the 
poor people two and three times a day in the great 
heat of August. In September he became quite ill. 
He was able to conduct the service at Westminster on 
Advent Sunday, the latter part of November. For 
some time he devoted himself to his wife who was 
dangerously ill, but his strength failed, and in Jan- 
uary, 1875, he passed away. 



















































































































































THE HEROES 


STORY I.— PERSEUS 
PART I 

HOW PERSEUS AND HIS MOTHER CAME TO 
SERIPHOS 

Once upon a time there were two princes who 
were twins. Their names were Acrisius and 
Prcetus, and they lived in the pleasant vale of 
Argos, far away in Hellas. They had fruitful 
meadows and vineyards, sheep and oxen, great 
herds of horses feeding down in Lerna Fen, and 
all that men could need to make them blest : and 
yet they were wretched, because they were jealous 
of each other. From the moment they were born 
they began to quarrel ; and when they grew up io 

Per'seus (per'sus or per'se-us). A-cri'si-us. Ar'go's. 

Se-ri'phos. Proe'tus. Hel'las. 


1 


2 


THE HEROES 


each tried to take away the other’s share of the 
kingdom, and keep all for himself. So first 
Acrisius drove out Prcetus; and he went across 
the seas, and brought home a foreign princess for 
his wife, and foreign warriors to help him, who 
were called Cyclopes ; and drove out Acrisius in 
his turn ; and then they fought a long while up 
and down the land, till the quarrel was settled, 
and Acrisius took Argos and one-half the land, and 
ioProetus took Tiryns and the other half. And 
Prcetus and his Cyclopes built around Tiryns 
great walls of unhewn stone, which are standing 
to this day. 

But there came a prophet to that hard-hearted 
Acrisius and prophesied against him, and said, 
“ Because you have risen up against your own 
blood, your own blood shall rise up against you ; 
because you have sinned against your kindred, by 
your kindred you shall be punished. Your daugh- 
20 ter Danae shall bear a son, and by that son’s hands 
you shall die. So the Gods have ordained, and it 
will surely come to pass.” 

Cy-clo'pes. Ti'ryns. D£n'a-e. 


PERSEUS 


3 


And at that Acrisius was very much afraid ; but 
he did not mend his ways. He had been cruel to 
his own family, and, instead of repenting and being 
kind to them, he went on to be more cruel than 
ever : for he shut up his fair daughter Danae in a 
cavern underground, lined with brass, that no one 
might come near her. So he fancied himself more 
cunning than the Gods : but you will see presently 
whether he was able to escape them. 

Now it came to pass that in time Danae bore aio 
son : so beautiful a babe that any but King Acri- 
sius would have had pity on it. But he had no 
pity ; for he took Danae and her babe down to 
the seashore, and put them into a great chest and 
thrust them out to sea, for the winds and the 
waves to carry them whithersoever they would. 

The northwest wind blew freshly out of the 
blue mountains, and down the pleasant vale of 
Argos, and away and out to sea. And away and 
out to sea before it floated the mother and her 20 
babe, while all who watched them wept, save that 
cruel father, King Acrisius. 

So they floated on and on, and the chest danced 


4 


THE HEROES 


up and down upon the billows, and the baby slept 
upon its mother’s breast : but the poor mother 
could not sleep, but watched and wept, and she 
sang to her baby as they floated ; and the song 
which she sang you shall learn yourselves some 
day. 

And now they are past the last blue headland, 
and in the open sea ; and there is nothing round 
them but the waves, and the sky, and the wind, 
to But the waves are gentle, and the sky is clear, and 
the breeze is tender and low ; for these are the 
days when Halcyone and Ceyx build their nests, 
and no storms ever ruffle the pleasant summer sea. 

And who were Halcyone and Ceyx ? You 
shall hear while the chest floats on. Halcyone 
was a fairy maiden, the daughter of the beach 
and of the wind. And she loved a sailor-boy, and 
married him ; and none on earth were so happy 
as they. But at last Ceyx was wrecked ; and 
20 before he could swim to the shore the billows 
swallowed him up. And Halcyone saw him 
drowning, and leapt into the sea to him ; but in 
Hal-cy'o-ne. Ce'yx. 


PERSEUS 


5 


vain. Then the Immortals took pity on them 
both, and changed them into two fair sea-birds; 
and now they build a floating nest every year, and 
sail up and down happily for ever upon the pleasant 
seas of Greece. 

So a night passed, and a day, and a long day 
it was for Danae ; and another night and day 
beside, till Danae was faint with hunger and 
weeping, and yet no land appeared. And all the 
while the babe slept quietly ; and at last poor io 
Danae drooped her head and fell asleep likewise 
with her cheek against the babe’s. 

After a while she was awakened suddenly ; for 
the chest was jarring and grinding, and the air was 
full of sound. She looked up, and over her head 
were mighty cliffs, all red in the setting sun, and 
around her rocks and breakers, and flying flakes 
of foam. She clasped her hands together, and 
shrieked aloud for help. And when she cried, 
help met her : for now there came over the rocks 20 
a tall and stately man, and looked down wonder- 
ing upon poor Danae tossing about in the chest 
among the waves. 


6 


THE HEROES 


He wore a rough cloak of frieze, and on his 
head a broad hat to shade his face ; in his hand 
he carried a trident for spearing fish, and over his 
shoulder was a casting-net ; but Danae could see 
that he was no common man by his stature, and 
his walk, and his flowing golden hair and beard ; 
and by the two servants who came behind him, 
carrying baskets for his fish. But she had hardly 
time to look at him before he had laid aside his 
io trident and leapt down the rocks, and thrown his 
casting-net so surely over Danae and the chest, 
that he drew it, and her, and the baby, safe upon 
a ledge of rock. 

Then the fisherman took Danae by the hand, and 
lifted her out of the chest, and said — ■ 

“ O beautiful damsel, what strange chance has 
brought you to this island in so frail a ship ? 
Who are you, and whence ? Surely you are some 
king’s daughter ; and this boy has somewhat more 
20 than mortal.” 

And as he spoke he pointed to the babe ; for its 
face shone like the morning star. 

But Danae only held down her head, and 
sobbed out — 


PERSEUS 


7 


“Tell me to what land I have come, unhappy 
that I am ; and among what men I have fallen ! ” 

And he said, “ This isle is called Seriphos, and 
I am a Hellen, and dwell in it. I am the brother 
of Polydectes the king ; and men call me Dictys 
the netter, because I catch the fish of the shore.” 

Then Danae fell down at his feet, and embraced 
his knees and cried — 

“ Oh, sir, have pity upon a stranger, whom a 
cruel doom has driven to your land ; and let me io 
live in your house as a servant; but treat me 
honourably, for I was once a king’s daughter, and 
this my boy (as you have truly said) is of no 
common race. I will not be a charge to you, or 
eat the bread of idleness ; for 1 am more skilful in 
weaving and embroidery than all the maidens of 
my land.” 

And she was going on ; but Dictys stopped her, 
and raised her up, and said — 

“ My daughter, I am old, and my hairs are grow- 20 
ing grey ; while I have no children to make my 
home cheerful. Come with me then, and you shall 
Hel'len. Pol-y-dec'tes. Dic'tys. 


8 


THE HEROES 


be a daughter to me and to my wife, and this babe 
shall be our grandchild. For i fear the Gods, and 
show hospitality to all strangers ; knowing that 
good deeds, like evil ones, always return to those 
who do them.’ 

So Danae was comforted, and went home with 
Dictys the good fisherman, and was a daughter to 
him and to his wife, till fifteen years were past. 


PART II 


HOW PERSEUS VOWED A RASH VOW 

Fifteen years were passed and gone and the 
babe was now grown to a tall lad and a sailor, 
and went many voyages after merchandise to the 
islands round. His mother called him Perseus ; 
but all the people in Seriphos said that he was not 
the son of mortal man, and called him Zeus, the son 
of the king of the Immortals. For though he was 
but fifteen, he was taller by a head than any man in 
the island ; and he was the most skilful of all in 
running and wrestling and boxing, and in throw- io 
mg the quoit and the javelin, and in rowing with 
the oar, and in playing on tjie harp, and in all 
which befits a man. And he was brave and truth- 
ful, gentle and courteous, for good old Dictys had 

Zeus (zus). The ruler of the world, wisest and most glorious 
of the Greek Gods. 


9 


10 


THE HEROES 


trained him well ; and well it was for Perseus that 
he had done so. For now Danae and her son fell 
into great danger, and Perseus had need of all his 
wit to defend his mother and himself. 

I said that Dictys’ brother was Polydectes, 
king of the island. He was not a righteous man, 
like Dictys ; but greedy, and cunning, and cruel. 
And when he saw fair Danae, he wanted to marry 
her. But she would not ; for she did not love him, 
to and cared for no one but her boy, and her boy’s 
father, whom she never hoped to see again. At 
last Polydectes became furious ; and while Perseus 
was away at sea he took poor Danae away from 
Dictys, saying, “ If you will not be my wife, you 
shall be my slave.” So Danae was made a slave, 
and had to fetch water from the well, and grind 
in the mill, and perhaps was beaten, and wore a 
heavy chain, because she would not marry that 
cruel king. But Perseus was far away, over the 
20 seas in the isle of Samos, little thinking how his 
mother was languishing in grief. 

Now one day at Samos, while the ship was lading, 
Sa'mos. 


PERSEUS 


11 


Perseus wandered into a pleasant wood to get out 
of the sun, and sat down on the turf and fell asleep. 
And as he slept a strange dream came to him — the 
strangest dream which he had ever had in his life. 

There came a lady to him through the wood, 
taller than he, or any mortal man ; but beautiful 
exceedingly, with grey eyes, clear and piercing, 
but strangely soft and mild. On her head was 
a helmet, and in her hand a spear. And over her 
shoulder, above her long blue robes, hung a goat- io 
skin, which bore up a mighty shield of brass, pol- 
ished like a mirror. She stood and looked at him 
with her clear grey eyes ; and Perseus saw that her 
eyelids never moved, nor her eyeballs, but looked 
straight through and through him, and into his 
very heart, as if she could see all the secrets of 
his soul, and knew all that he had ever thought or 
longed for since the day that he was born. And 
Perseus dropped his eyes, trembling and blushing, 
as the wonderful lady spoke. 20 

“ Perseus, you must do an errand for me.” 

“Who are you, lady? And how do you know 
my name? ” 


12 


THE HEROES 


“ I am Pallas Athene ; and I know the thoughts 
of all men’s hearts, and discern their manhood or 
their baseness. And from the souls of clay I turn 
away, and they are blest, but not by me. They 
fatten at ease, like sheep in the pasture, and eat 
what they did not sow, like oxen in the stall. They 
grow and spread, like the gourd along the ground ; 
but, like the gourd, they give no shade to the 
traveller, and when they are ripe death gathers 
iothem, and they go down unloved into hell, and 
their name vanishes out of the land. 

“But to the souls of fire I give more fire, and to 
those who are manful I give a might more than 
man’s. These are the heroes, the sons of the 
Immortals, who are blest, but not like the souls of 
clay. For I drive them forth by strange paths, 
Perseus, that they may fight the Titans and the 

Pal'las A-the'ne. The daughter of Zeus, who sprang from 
his brain full-grown and full-armed. She was the goddess of 
wisdom, of warlike defence, and of agriculture and the useful 
arts. 

Ti'tans. The Titans were gods, the personified forces of 
nature. As enemies of Zeus, they had been forced by him into 
the underworld. 


PERSEUS 


13 


monsters, the enemies of Gods and men. Through 
doubt and need, danger and battle, I drive them ; 
and some of them are slain in the flower of youth, 
no man knows when or where ; and some of them 
win noble names, and a fair and green old age ; 
but what will be their latter end I know not, and 
none, save Zeus, the father of Gods and men. 
Tell me now, Perseus, which of these two sorts 
of men seem to you more blest? ” 

Then Perseus answered boldly : “ Better to die io 
in the flower of youth, on the chance of winning a 
noble name, than to live at ease like the sheep, 
and die unloved and unrenowned.” 

Then that strange lady laughed, and held up 
her brazen shield, and cried : “ See here, Perseus ; 
dare you face such a monster as this, and slay it, 
that I may place its head upon this shield? ” 

And in the mirror of the shield there appeared 
a face, and as Perseus looked on it his blood ran 
cold. It was the face of a beautiful woman ; but 20 
her cheeks were pale as death, and her brows were 
knit with everlasting pain, and her lips were thin 
and bitter like a snake’s ; and instead of hair, 


14 


THE HEROES 


vipers wreathed about her temples, and shot out 
their forked tongues ; while round her head were 
folded wings like an eagle’s, and upon her bosom 
claws of brass. 

And Perseus looked awhile, and then said : 
“ If there is anything so fierce and foul on earth, it 
were a noble deed to kill it. Where can I find 
the monster? ” 

Then the strange lady smiled again, and said : 
i° u Not yet; you are too young, and too unskilled; 
for this is Medusa the Gorgon, the mother of a 
monstrous brood. Return to your home, and do 
the work which waits there for you. You must 
play the man in that before I can think you worthy 
to go in search of the Gorgon.” 

Then Perseus would have spoken, but the 
strange lady vanished, and he awoke; and behold, 
it was a dream. But day and night Perseus saw 
before him the face of that dreadful woman, with 
20 the vipers writhing round her head. 

So he returned home ; and when he came 
to Seriphos, the first thing which he heard 
Me-du'sa. Gor'gon. 


PERSEUS 


15 


was that his mother was a slave in the house of 
Polydectes. 

Grinding his teeth with rage, he went out, and 
away to the king’s palace, and through the men’s 
rooms, and the women’s rooms, and so through all 
the house (for no one dared stop him, so terrible 
and fair was he) till he found his mother sitting 
on the floor, turning the stone hand-mill, and 
weeping as she turned it. And he lifted her up, 
and kissed her, and bade her follow him forth, io 
But before they could pass out of the room 
Polydectes came in, raging. And when Perseus 
saw him, he flew upon him as the mastiff flies on 
the boar. “ Villain and tyrant ! ” he cried ; “ is 
this your respect for the Gods, and thy mercy to 
strangers and widows? You shall die!” And 
because he had no sword he caught up the stone 
hand-mill, and lifted it to dash out Polydectes’ 
brains. 

But his mother clung to him, shrieking, “ Oh, 20 
my son, we are strangers and helpless in the land ; 
and if you kill the king, all the people will fall on 
us, and we shall both die.” 


16 


THE HEROES 


Good Dictys, too, who had come in, entreated 
him. “ Remember that he is my brother. Re- 
member how I have brought you up, and trained 
you as my own son, and spare him for my sake.” 

Then Perseus lowered his hand; and Polydectes, 
who had been trembling all this while like a 
coward, because he knew that he was in the 
wrong, let Perseus and his mother pass. 

Perseus took his mother to the temple of Athene, 
and there the priestess made her one of the temple- 
sweepers ; for there they knew she would be safe, 
and not even Polydectes would dare to drag her 
away from the altar. And there Perseus, and the 
good Dictys, and his wife, came to visit her every 
day ; while Polydectes, not being able to get what 
he wanted by force, cast about in his wicked heart 
how he might get it by cunning. 

Now he was sure that he could never get back 
Danae as long as Perseus was in the island ; so he 
made a plot to rid himself of him. And first he 
pretended to have forgiven Perseus, and to have 
forgotten Danae ; so that, for a while, all went as 
smoothly as ever. 


PERSEUS 


17 


Next he proclaimed a great feast, and invited to 
it all the chiefs, and landowners, and the young 
men of the island, and among them Perseus, that 
they might all do him homage as their king, and 
eat of his banquet in his hall. 

On the appointed day they all came ; and as 
the custom was then, each guest brought his present 
with him to the king : one a horse, another a 
shawl, or a ring, or a sword ; and those who had 
nothing better brought a basket of grapes, or of io 
game ; but Perseus brought nothing, for he had 
nothing to bring, being but a poor sailor-lad. 

He was ashamed, however, to go into the king’s 
presence without his gift ; and he was too proud 
to ask Dictys to lend him one. So he stood at the 
door sorrowfully, watching the rich men go in ; and 
his face grew very red as they pointed at him, and 
smiled, and whispered, “ What has that foundling 
to give ? ” 

Now this was what Polydectes wanted ; and as 20 
soon as he heard that Perseus stood without, he 
bade them bring him in, and asked him scornfully 
before them all, “Am I not your king, Perseus, 


18 


THE HEROES 


and have I not invited you to my feast ? Where 
is your present, then ? ” 

Perseus blushed and stammered, while all the 
proud men round laughed, and some of them 
began jeering him openly. “ This fellow was 
thrown ashore here like a piece of weed or drift- 
wood, and yet he is too proud to bring a gift to 
the king.” 

“ And though he does not know who his father 
io is, he is vain enough to let the old women call him 
the son of Zeus.” 

And so forth, till poor Perseus grew mad with 
shame, and hardly knowing what he said, cried 
out, — “A present ! who are you who talk of 
presents ? See if I do not bring a nobler one than 
all of yours together ! ” 

So he said boasting ; and yet he felt in his heart 
that he was braver than all those scoffers, and 
more able to do some glorious deed. 

10 “ Hear him ! Hear the boaster ! What is it to 

be ? v ” cried they all, laughing louder than ever. 

Then his dream at Samos came into his mind, 
and he cried aloud, “The head of the Gorgon.” 


PERSEUS 


19 


He was half afraid after he had said the words ; 
for all laughed louder than ever, and Polydectes 
loudest of all. 

“You have promised to bring me the Gorgon’s 
head ? Then never appear again in this island 
without it. Go ! ” 

Perseus ground his teeth with rage, for he saw 
that he had fallen into a trap ; but his promise lay 
upon him, and he went out without a word. 

Down to the cliffs he went, and looked across io 
the broad blue sea ; and he wondered if his dream 
were true, and prayed in the bitterness of his soul : 

“ Pallas Athene, was my dream true ? and shall 
I slay. the Gorgon? If thou didst really show me 
her face, let me not come to shame as a liar and 
boastful. Rashly and angrily I promised ; but 
cunningly and patiently will I perform.” 

But there was no answer, nor sign ; neither 
thunder nor any appearance ; not even a cloud in 
the sky. 20 

And three times Perseus called weeping, “ Rashly 
and angrily I promised ; but cunningly and pa- 
tiently will I perform.” 


20 


THE HEROES 


Then he saw afar off above the sea a small white 
cloud, as bright as silver. And it came on, nearer 
and nearer, till its brightness dazzled his eyes. 

Perseus wondered at that strange cloud, for 
there was no other cloud all round the sky ; and 
he trembled as it touched the cliff below. And 
as it touched, it broke, and parted, and within it 
appeared Pallas Athene, as he had seen her at 
Samos in his dream, and beside her a young man 
io more light-limbed than the stag, whose eyes were 
like sparks of fire. By his side was a scimitar of 
diamond, all of one clear precious stone, and on 
his feet were golden sandals, from the heels of 
which grew living wings. 

They looked upon Perseus keenly, and yet they 
never moved their eyes ; and they came up the 
cliffs towards him more swiftly than the sea-gull, 
and yet they never moved their feet, nor did the 
breeze stir their robes about their limbs ; only the 
20 wings of the youth’s sandals quivered, like a hawk’s 
when he hangs above the cliff. And Perseus fell 
down and worshipped, for he knew that they were 
more than man. 


PERSEUS 


21 


But Athene stood before him and spoke gently, 
and bid him have no fear. Then — 

“ Perseus,” she said, “ he who overcomes in one 
trial merits thereby a sharper trial still. You have 
braved Polydectes, and done manfully. Dare you 
brave Medusa the Gorgon ? ” 

And Perseus said, “ Try me ; for since you spoke 
to me in Samos a new soul has come into my 
breast, and I should be ashamed not to dare any- 
thing which I can do. Show me, then, how I can io 
do this ! ” 

“ Perseus,” said Athene, “ think well before you 
attempt ; for this deed requires a seven years’ 
journey, in which you cannot repent or turn back 
nor escape ; but if your heart fails you, you must 
die in the Unshapen Land, where no man will ever 
find your bones.” 

“Better so than live here, useless and despised,” 
said Perseus. “ Tell me, then, oh tell me, fair and 
wise Goddess, of your great kindness and conde-20 
scension, how I can do but this one thing, and 
then, if need be, die ! ” 

Then Athene smiled and said — 


22 


THE HEROES 


“ Be patient, and listen ; for if you forget my 
words, you will indeed die. You must go north- 
ward to the country of the Hyperboreans, who 
live beyond the pole, at the sources of the cold 
north wind, till you find the three Grey Sisters, who 
have but one eye and one tooth between them. 
You must ask them the way to the Nymphs, the 
daughters of the Evening Star, who dance about 
the golden tree, in the Atlantic island of the west, 
io They will tell you the way to the Gorgon, that 
you may slay her, my enemy, the mother of 
monstrous beasts. Once she was a maiden as 
beautiful as morn, till in her pride she sinned a 
sin at which the sun hid his face ; and from that 
day her hair was turned to vipers, and her hands 
to eagle’s claws ; and her heart was filled with 
shame and rage, and her lips with bitter venom ; 
and her eyes became so terrible that whosoever 
looks on them is turned to stone ; and her 
20 children are the winged horse and the giant of 
the golden sword ; and her grandchildren are 
Echidna the witch-adder, and Geryon the three- 
Hy-per-bo're-ans. E-chid'na. Ge'ry-on. 


PERSEUS 


23 


headed tyrant, who feeds his herds beside the 
herds of hell. So she became the sister of the 
Gorgons, the daughters of the Queen of the Sea. 
Touch them not, for they are immortal ; but bring 
me only Medusa’s head.” 

“ And I will bring it ! ” said Perseus ; “ but how 
am I to escape her eyes? Will she not freeze me 
too into stone ? ” 

“ You shall take this polished shield,” said 
Athene, “ and when you come near her look not at io 
her yourself, but at her image in the brass ; so you 
may strike her safely. And when you have struck 
off her head, wrap it, with your face turned away, 
in the folds of the goat-skin on which the shield 
hangs. So you will bring it safely back to me, 
and win to yourself renown, and a place among the 
heroes who feast with the Immortals upon the peak 
where no winds blow.” 

Then Perseus said, “ I will go, though I die in 
going. But how shall I cross the seas without a 20 
ship ? And who will show me my way ? And 
when I find her, how shall I slay her, if her scales 
be iron and brass ? ” 


24 


THE HEROES 


Then the young man spoke : “ These sandals of 
mine will bear }^ou across the seas, and over hill 
and dale like a bird, as they bear me all day long ; 
for I am Hermes, the far-famed Argus slayer, the 
messenger of the Immortals who dwell on Olympus.” 

Then Perseus fell dowm and worshipped, while 
the young man spoke again — 

“ The sandals themselves will guide you on the 
road, for they are divine and cannot stray ; and this 
io sword itself, the Argus-slayer, will kill her, for it 
is divine, and needs no second stroke. Arise, and 
gird them on, and go forth.” 

So Perseus arose, and girded on the sandals and 
the sword. 

And Athene cried, “ Now leap from the cliff and 
be gone.” 

But Perseus lingered. 

“ May I not bid farewell to my mother and to 
Dictys ? And may I not offer burnt-offerings to 

Her'mes. O-lym'pus. 

Ar'gus. A mythical creature with a hundred eyes. When 
killed by Hermes, Hera placed his eyes on the tail of her 
peacock. 


PERSEUS 


25 


you, and to Hermes the far-famed Argus-slayer, 
and to Father Zeus above ? ” 

“ You shall not bid farewell to your mother, lest 
your heart relent at her weeping. I will comfort 
her and Dictys until you return in peace, Nor 
shall you offer burnt-offerings to the Olympians ; 
for your offering shall be Medusa’s head. Leap, 
and trust in the armour of the Immortals.” 

Then Perseus looked down the cliff and shud- 
dered; but he was ashamed to show his dread, io 
Then he thought of Medusa and the renown before 
him, and he leapt into the empty air. 

And behold, instead of falling he floated, and 
stood, and ran along the sky. He looked back, 
but Athene had vanished, and Hermes ; and the 
sandals led him on northward ever, like a crane 
who follows the spring toward the Ister fens. 


Is'ter (the Danube). 


PART III 


HOW PERSEUS SLEW THE GORGON 

So Perseus started on his journey, going dry- 
shod over land and sea ; and his heart was high 
and joyful, for the winged sandals bore him each 
day a seven days’ journey. 

And he went by Cythnus, and by Ceos, and the 
pleasant Cyclades to Attica ; and past Athens and 
Thebes, and the Copaic lake, and up the vale of 
Cephisus, and past the peaks of (Eta and Pin- 
dus, and over the rich Thessalian plains, till the 
io sunny hills of Greece were behind him, and before 
him were the wilds of the north. Then he passed 
the Thracian mountains, and many a barbarous 
tribe, till he came to the Ister stream, and the dreary 
Scythian plains. And he walked across the Ister 

Cyth'nus. Thebes. Thes-sa'li-an. 

Ce'os. Co-pa'ic. Thra'ci-an. 

Cyc'la-des. Ce-plii/sus. Scyth'i-an. 

At/ti-ca. CE'ta. 


26 


PERSEUS 


27 


dry-shod, and away through the moors and fens, 
day and night toward the bleak northwest, turn- 
ing neither to the right hand nor the left, till he 
came to the Unshapen Land, and the place which 
has no name. 

And seven days he walked through it, on a path 
which few can tell ; for those who have trodden 
it like least to speak of it, and those who go there 
again in dreams are glad enough when they awake ; 
till he came to the edge of the everlasting night, io 
where the air was full of feathers, and the soil was 
hard with ice ; and there at last he found the three 
Grey Sisters, by the shore of the freezing sea, 
nodding upon a white log of driftwood, beneath 
the cold white winter moon ; and they chanted 
a low song together, “ Why the old times were 
better than the new.” 

There was no living thing around them, not a 
fly, not a moss upon the rocks. Neither seal nor 
sea-gull dare come near, lest the ice should clutch 20 
them in its claws. The surge broke up in foam, 
but it fell again in flakes of snow ; and it frosted 
the hair of the three Grey Sisters, and the bones 


28 


THE HEROES 


in the ice-cliff above their heads. They passed 
the eye from one to the other, but for all that 
they could not see ; and they passed the tooth 
from one to the other, but for all that they could 
not eat ; and they sat in the full glare of the 
moon, but they were none the warmer for her 
beams. And Perseus pitied the three Grey 
Sisters ; but they did not pity themselves. 

So he said, 44 Oh, venerable mothers, wisdom is 
io the daughter of old age. You therefore should 
know many things. Tell me, if you can, the path 
to the Gorgon.” 

Then one cried, “ Who is this who reproaches 
us with old age ? ” And another, “ This is the 
voice of one of the children of men.” 

And he, 44 I do not reproach, but honour your 
old age, and I am one of the sons of men and of 
the heroes. The rulers of Olympus have sent me 
to you to ask the way to the Gorgon.” 

20 Then one, “ There are new rulers in Olympus, 
and all new things are bad.” And another, 44 We 
hate your rulers, and the heroes, and all the 
children of men. We are the kindred of the 


PERSEUS 


29 


Titans, and the Giants, and the Gorgons, and the 
ancient monsters of the deep.” And another, 
“Who is this rash and insolent man who pushes 
unbidden into our world ? ” And the first, “ There 
never was such a world as ours, nor will be ; if we 
let him see it, he will spoil it all.” 

Then one cried, “ Give me the eye, that I may 
see him ; ” and another, “ Give me the tooth, that 
I may bite him.” But Perseus, when he saw that 
they were foolish and proud, and did not love the io 
children of men, left off pitying them, and said to 
himself, “ Hungry men must needs be hasty ; if I 
stay making many words here, I shall be starved.” 
Then he stepped close to them, and watched till 
they passed the eye from hand to hand. And as 
they groped about between themselves, he held out 
his own hand gently, till one of them put the eye 
into it, fancying that it was the hand of her sister. 
Then he sprang back, and laughed, and cried — 

“ Cruel and proud old women, I have your eye ; 20 
and I will throw it into the sea, unless }^ou tell me 
the path to the Gorgon, and swear to me that you 
tell me right.” 


30 


THE HEROES 


Then they wept, and chattered, and scolded ; 
but in vain. They were forced to tell the truth, 
though, when they told it, Perseus could hardly 
make out the road. 

“ You must go,” they said, “foolish boy, to the 
southward, into the ugly glare of the sun, till you 
come to Atlas the Giant, who holds the heaven 
and the earth apart. And you must ask his 
daughters, the Hesperides, who are young and 
foolish like yourself. And now give us back our 
eye, for we have forgotten all the rest.” 

So Perseus gave them back their eye ; but 
instead of using it, they nodded and fell fast 
asleep, and were turned into blocks of ice, till the 
tide came up and washed them all away. And 
now they float up and down like icebergs for ever, 
weeping whenever they meet the sunshine, and the 
fruitful summer, and the warm south wind, which 
fill young hearts with joy. 

20 But Perseus leaped away to the southward, 
leaving the snow and the ice behind : past the isle 

Hes-per'i-des. The nymphs who guarded the golden apples 
that were given to Hera at her marriage with Zeus. 


PERSEUS 


31 


of the Hyperboreans, and the tin isles, and the long 
Iberian shore, while the sun rose higher day by 
day upon a bright blue summer sea. And the 
terns and the sea-gulls swept laughing round his 
head, and called to him to stop and play, and the 
dolphins gambolled up as he passed, and offered 
to carry him on their back And all night long 
the sea-nymphs sang sweetly, and the Tritons blew 
upon their conchs, as they played round Galatsea 
their queen, in her car of pearled shells. Day by io 
day the sun rose higher, and leaped more swiftly 
into the sea at night, and more swiftly out of the 
sea at dawn ; while Perseus skimmed over tb«. 
billows like a sea-gull, and his feet were never 
wetted ; and leapt on from wave to wave, and his 
limbs were never weary, till he saw far away a 
mighty mountain, all rose-red in the setting sun. 
Its feet were wrapped in forests, and its head in 
wreaths of cloud ; and Perseus knew that it was 
Atlas, who holds the heavens and the earth 20 
apart. 

He came to the mountain, and leapt on shore, 
I-be'ri-an (Spain). Tri'tons (sea gods). Gal-a-tae'a. 


32 


THE HEROES 


and wandered upward, among pleasant valleys and 
waterfalls, and tall trees and strange ferns and 
flowers ; but there was no smoke rising from any 
glen, nor house, nor sign of man. 

At last he heard sweet voices singing ; and he 
guessed that he was come to the garden of the 
Nymphs, the daughters of the Evening Star. 

They sang like nightingales among the thickets, 
and Perseus stopped to hear their song ; but the 
jo words which they spoke he could not understand ; 
no, nor no man after him for many a hundred 
years. So he stepped forward and saw them 
dancing, hand in hand around the charmed tree, 
which bent under its golden fruit ; and round the 
tree-foot was coiled the dragon, old Ladon the 
sleepless snake, who lies there for ever, listening 
to the song of the maidens, blinking and watching 
with dry bright eyes. 

Then Perseus stopped, not because he feared 
20 the dragon, but because he was bashful before 
those fair maids ; but when they saw him, they too 
stopped, and called to him with trembling voices — 
La'don. 


PERSEUS 


33 


“ Who are you? Are you Heracles the mighty, 
who will come to rob our garden, and carry off 
our golden fruit? ” And he answered — 

“ I am not Heracles the mighty, and I want 
none of your golden fruit. Tell me, fair Nymphs, 
the way which leads to the Gorgon, that I may go 
on my way and slay her.” 

“ Not yet, not yet, fair boy ; come dance with 
us around the tree in the garden which knows no 
winter, the home of the south wind and the sun. io 
Come hither and play with us awhile ; we have 
danced alone here for a thousand years, and our 
hearts are weary with longing for a playfellow. 
So come, come, come ! ” 

“ I cannot dance with you, fair maidens ; for I 
must do the errand of the Immortals. So tell me 
the way to the Gorgon, lest I wander and perish 
in the waves.” 

Then they sighed and wept ; and answered — 

“The Gorgon! she will freeze you into stone.” 20 

“ It is better to die like a hero than to live like 

Her'a-cles. A famous hero who with the help of Atlas pro- 
cured three of the golden apples. 


34 


THE HEROES 


an ox in a stall. The Immortals have lent me 
weapons, and they will give me wit to use them.” 

Then they sighed -again and answered : “ Fair 
boy, if you are bent on your own ruin, be it so. 
We know not the way to the Gorgon ; but we will 
ask the giant Atlas, above upon the mountain 
peak, the brother of our father, the silver Evening 
Star. He sits aloft and sees across the ocean, 
and far away into the Unshapen Land.” 
io So they went up the mountain to Atlas their 
uncle, and Perseus went up with them. And 
they found the giant kneeling, as he held the 
heavens and the earth apart. 

They asked him, and he answered mildly, 
pointing to the sea-board with his mighty hand, 
“I can see the Gorgons lying on an island far 
away, but this youth can never come near them, 
unless he has the hat of darkness, which whoso- 
ever wears cannot be seen.” 

20 Then cried Perseus, “ Where is that hat, that I 
may find it ? ” 

But the giant smiled. “No living mortal 
can find that hat, for it lies in the depths of 


PERSEUS 


35 


Hades, in the regions of the dead. But my nieces 
are immortal, and they shall fetch it for you, if you 
will promise me one thing and keep your faith.” 

Then Perseus promised; and the giant said, 

“ When you coipe back with the head of Medusa, 
you shall show me the beautiful horror, that I may 
lose my feeling and my breathing, and become a 
stone for ever ; for it is wear}^ labour for me to 
hold the heavens and the earth apart.” 

Then Perseus promised, and the eldest of the io 
Nymphs went down, and into a dark cavern 
among the cliffs, out of which came smoke and 
thunder, for it was one of the mouths of Hell. 

And Perseus and the Nymphs sat down seven 
days, and waited trembling, till the Nymph came 
up again ; and her face was pale, and her eyes daz- 
zled with the light, for she had been long in the 
dreary darkness ; but in her hand was the magic hat. 

Then mi the Nymphs kissed Perseus, and wept 
over him a long while ; but he was only impatient 20 
to be gone. And at last they put the hat upon his 
head, and he vanished out of their sight. 

Ha'des. The underworld. 


36 


THE HEROES 


But Perseus went on boldly, past many an ugly 
sight, far away into the heart of the Unshapen 
Land, beyond the streams of Ocean, to the isles 
where no ship cruises, where is neither night nor 
day, where nothing is in its right place, and noth- 
ing has a name ; till he heard the rustle of the 
Gorgons’ wings and saw the glitter of their brazen 
talons ; and then he knew that it was time to halt, 
lest Medusa should freeze him into stone. 
io He thought awhile with himself, and remem- 
bered Athene’s words. He arose aloft into the 
air, and held the mirror of the shield above his 
head, and looked up into it that he might see all 
that was below him. 

And he saw the three Gorgons sleeping, as 
huge as elephants. He knew that they could not 
see him, because the hat of darkness hid him; and 
yet he trembled as he sank down near them, so 
terrible were those brazen claws. 

20 Two of the Gorgons were foul as swine, and lay 
sleeping heavily, as swine sleep, with their mighty 
wings outspread ; but Medusa tossed to and fro 
restlessly, and as she tossed Perseus pitied her, she 


PERSEUS 


37 


looked so fair and sad. Her plumage was like 
the rainbow, and her face was like the face of a 
nymph, only her eyebrows were knit, and her lips 
clenched, with everlasting care and pain ; and her 
long neck gleamed so white in the mirror that 
Perseus had not the heart to strike, and said, “ Ah, 
that it had been either of her sisters ! ” 

But as he looked, from among her tresses the 
vipers’ heads awoke, and peeped up with their 
bright dry eyes, and showed their fangs, and io 
hissed ; and Medusa, as she tossed, threw back her 
wings and showed her brazen claws ; and Perseus 
saw that, for all her beauty, she was as foul and 
venomous as the rest. 

Then he came down and stepped to her boldly, 
and looked steadfastly on his mirror, and struck 
with Herpe stoutly once ; and he did not need to 
strike again. 

Then he wrapped the head in the goat-skin, 
turning away his eyes, and sprang into the air 20 
aloft, faster than he ever sprang before. 

For Medusa’s wings and talons rattled as she 
Her'p6. The sword of Hermes. 


38 


THE HEROES 


sank dead upon the rocks ; and her two foul sis- 
ters woke, and saw her lying dead. 

Into the air they sprang yelling, and looked for 
him who had done the deed. Thrice they swung 
round and round, like hawks who beat for a par- 
tridge ; and thrice they snuffed round and round, 
like hounds who draw upon a deer. At last they 
struck upon the scent of the blood, and they 
checked for a moment to make sure ; and then on 
io they rushed with a fearful howl, while the wind 
rattled hoarse in their wings. 

On they rushed, sweeping and flapping, like 
eagles after a hare ; and Perseus’ blood ran cold, 
for all his courage, as he saw them come howling 
on his track ; and he cried, “ Bear me well now, 
brave sandals, for the hounds of Death are at my 
heels ! ” 

And well the brave sandals bore him, aloft 
through cloud and sunshine, across the shoreless 
20 sea ; and fast followed the hounds of Death, as the 
roar of their wings came down the wind. But the 
roar came down fainter and fainter, and the howl 
of their voices died away; for the sandals were too 


PE BSE US 


39 


swift, even for Gorgons, and by nightfall they 
were far behind, two black specks in the southern 
sky, till the sun sank and he saw them no more. 

Then he came again to Atlas, and the garden of 
the Nymphs ; and when the giant heard him com- 
ing, he groaned, and said, “ Fulfil thy promise to 
me.” Then Perseus held up to him the Gorgon’s 
head, and he had rest from all his toil ; for he 
became a crag of stone, which sleeps for ever far 
above the clouds. 10 

Then he thanked the Nymphs, and asked them, 

“ By what road shall I go homeward again, for I 
have wandered far in coming hither ? ” 

And they wept and cried, “ Go home no more, 
but stay and play with us, the lonely maidens, who 
dwell for ever far away from Gods and men.” 

But he refused, and they told him his road, and 
said, “ Take with you this magic fruit, which, if you 
eat once, you will not hunger for seven days. For 
you must go eastward and eastward ever, over 20 
the doleful Lybian shore, which Poseidon gave to 

Lyb'i-an. 

Po-sei'don. The brother of Zens and ruler of the ocean. 


40 


THE HEROES 


Father Zeus, when he burst open the Bosphorus 
and the Hellespont, and drowned the fair Lecto- 
nian land. And Zeus took that land in exchange, 
a fair bargain, much bad ground for a little good, 
and to this day it lies waste and desert, with 
shingle, and rock, and sand.” 

Then they kissed Perseus, and wept oyer him, 
and he leapt down the mountain, and went on, les- 
sening and lessening like a sea-gull, away and out 
io to sea. 


Bos'pho-rus. 


Hel'les-pont. 


Lec-to'ni-an. 


PART IV 


HOW PERSEUS CAME TO THE ^ETHIOPS 

So Perseus flitted onward to the northeast, over 
many a league of sea, till he came to the rolling 
sand-hills and the dreary Lybian shore. 

And he flitted on across the desert : over rock- 
ledges, and banks of shingle, and level wastes 
of sand, and shell-drifts bleaching in the sunshine, 
and the skeletons of great sea-monsters, and dead 
bones of ancient giants, strewn up and down upon 
the old sea-floor. And as he went the blood-drops 
fell to the earth from the Gorgon’s head, and be- io 
came poisonous asps and adders, which breed in 
the desert to this day. 

Over the sands he went, — he never knew how 
far or how long, feeding on the fruit which the 
Nymphs had given him, till he saw the hills of the 

iE'thi-ops 

41 


42 


THE HEROES 


Psylli, and the Dwarfs who fought with cranes. 
Their spears were of reeds and rushes, and their 
houses of the egg-shells of the cranes ; and Perseus 
laughed, and went his way to the northeast, hop- 
ing all day long to see the blue Mediterranean 
sparkling, that he might fly across it to his home. 

But now came down a mighty wind, and swept 
him back southward toward the desert. All day 
long he strove against it ; but even the winged 
io sandals could not prevail. So he was forced to 
float down the wind all night ; and when the 
morning dawned there was nothing to be seen, 
save the same old hateful waste of sand. 

And out of the north the sandstorms rushed 
upon him, blood-red pillars and wreaths, blotting 
out the noonday sun ; and Perseus fled before 
them, lest he should be choked by the burning 
dust. At last the gale fell calm, and he tried 
to go northward again; but again came down the 
20 sandstorms, and swept him back into the waste, 
and then all was calm and cloudless as before. 
Seven days he strove against the storms, and seven 
Psyl'li (sil'li) . 


PERSEUS 


43 


days he was driven back, till he was spent with 
thirst and hunger, and his tongue clove to the 
roof of his mouth. Here and there he fancied 
that he saw a fair lake, and the sunbeams shining 
on the water ; but when he came to it it vanished 
at his feet, and there was nought but burning sand. 
And if he had not been of the race of the Immor- 
tals, he would have perished in the waste ; but his 
life was strong within him, because it was more 
than man’s. 

Then he cried to Athene and said — 

“ Oh, fair and pure, if thou hearest me, wilt thou 
leave me here to die of drought ? I have brought 
thee the Gorgon’s head at thy bidding, and hitherto 
thou hast prospered my journey ; dost thou desert 
me at the last ? Else why will not these immortal 
sandals prevail, even against the desert storms ? 
Shall I never see my mother more, and the blue 
ripple round Seriphos, and the sunny hills of 
Hellas?” 

So he prayed ; and after he had prayed there 
was a great silence. 

The heaven was still above his head, and the 


44 


THE HEROES 


sand was still beneath his feet ; and Perseus looked 
up, but there was nothing but the blinding sun in 
the blinding blue ; and round him, but there was 
nothing but the blinding sand. 

And Perseus stood still awhile, and waited, and 
said, “ Surely I am not here without the will of the 
Immortals, for Athene will not lie. Were not 
these sandals to lead me in the right road ? Then 
the road in wliich I have tried to go must be a 
i° wrong road.” 

Then suddenly his ears were opened, and he 
heard the sound of running water. 

And at that his heart was lifted up, though he 
scarcely dare believe his ears ; and weary as he 
was, he hurried forward, though he could scarcely 
stand upright ; and within a bowshot of him was 
a glen in the sand, and marble rocks, and date 
trees, and a lawn of gay green grass. And through 
the lawn a streamlet sparkled and wandered out 
20 beyond the trees, and vanished in the sand. 

The water trickled among the rocks, and a 
pleasant breeze rustled in the dry date-branches ; 
and Perseus laughed for joy, and leapt down the 


PERSEUS 


45 


cliff, and drank of the cool water, and ate of the 
dates, and slept upon the turf, and leapt up and 
went forward again ; but not toward the north this 
time ; for he said, “ Surely Athene hath sent me 
hither, and will not have me go homeward yet. 
What if there be another noble deed to be done, 
before I see the sunny hills of Hellas?” 

So he went east, and east for ever, by fresh oases 
and fountains, date-palms, and lawns of grass, till 
he saw before him a mighty mountain wall, all io 
rose-red in the setting sun. 

Then he towered in the air like an eagle, for his 
limbs were strong again ; and he flew all night 
across the mountain till the day began to dawn, 
and rosy-fingered Eos came blushing up the sky. 
And then, behold, beneath him was the long green 
garden of Egypt and the shining stream of Nile. 

And he saw cities walled up to heaven, and tem- 
ples, and obelisks, and pyramids, and giant Gods 
of stone. And he came down amid fields of barley 20 
and flax, and millet, and clambering gourds ; and 
saw the people coming out of the gates of a great 
E'os. The Goddess of Dawn. 


46 


THE HEROES 


city, and setting to work, each in his place, among 
the water-courses, parting the streams among the 
plants cunningly with their feet, according to the 
wisdom of the Egyptians. But when they saw him 
they all stopped their work, and gathered round 
him, and cried — 

“ Who art thou, fair youth ? and what bearest 
thou beneath they goat-skin there? Surely thou 
art one of the Immortals ; for thy skin is white like 
xo ivory, and ours is red like clay. Thy hair is like 
threads of gold, and ours is black and curled. 
Surely thou art one of the Immortals ; ” and they 
would have worshipped him then and there ; but 
Perseus said — 

“ I am not one of the Immortals ; but I am a hero 
of the Hellens. And I have slain the Gorgon in 
the wilderness, and bear her head with me. Give 
me food, therefore, that I may go forward and 
finish my work.” 

20 Then they gave him food, and fruit, and wine ; 
but they would not let him go. And when the 
news came into the city that the Gorgon was slain, 
the priests came out to meet him, and the maidens, 


PERSEUS 


47 


with songs and dances, and timbrels and harps ; 
and they would have brought him to their temple 
and to their king ; but Perseus put on the hat of 
darkness, and vanished away out of their sight. 

Therefore the Egyptians looked long for his re- 
turn, but in vain, and worshipped him as a hero, 
and made a statue of him in Chemmis, which stood 
for many a hundred years ; and they said that he 
appeared to them at times, with sandals a cubit 
long ; and that whenever he appeared the season io 
was fruitful, and the Nile rose high that year. 

Then Perseus went to the eastward, along the 
Red Sea shore ; and then, because he was afraid 
to go into the Arabian deserts, he turned north- 
ward once more, and this time no storm hindered 
him. 

He went past the Isthmus, and Mount Casius, 
and the vast Serbonian bog, and up the shore of 

E alestine, where the dark-faced iEthiops dwelt. 

He flew on past pleasant hills and valleys, like 20 
rgos itself, or Lacedaemon, or the fair Vale of 
empe. But the lowlands were all drowned by 
Chem'mis. Ca'si-us. Ser-bo'ni-an. Lac-e-dae'mon. 


48 


THE HEROES 


floods, and the highlands blasted by fire, and the 
hills heaved like a bubbling cauldron, before the 
wrath of King Poseidon, the shaker of the earth. 

And Perseus feared to go inland, but flew along 
the shore above the sea ; and he went on all the day, 
and the sky was black with smoke ; and he went 
on all the night, and the sky was red with flame. 

And at the dawn of day he looked toward the 
cliffs ; and at the water’s edge, under a black rock, 
io he saw a white image stand. 

“This,” thought he, “must surely be the statue | 
of some sea- God ; I will go near and see what kind 
of Gods these barbarians worship.” 

So he came near ; but when he came, it was no 
statue, but a maiden of flesh and blood ; for he 
could see her tresses streaming in the breeze ; and 
as he came closer still, he could see how she shrank 
and shivered when the waves sprinkled her with 
cold salt spray. Her arms were spread above her 
20 head, and fastened to the rock with chains of brass ; 
and her head drooped on her bosom, either with 
sleep, or weariness, or grief. But now and then 
she looked up and wailed, and called her mother ; 


PERSEUS 


49 


yet she did not see Perseus, for the cap of dark- 
ness was on his head. 

Full of pity and indignation, Perseus drew near 
and looked upon the maid. Her cheeks were 
darker than his were, and her hair was blue-black 
like a hyacinth ; but Perseus thought : “ I have 
never seen so beautiful a maiden ; no, not in all 
our isles. Surely she is a king’s daughter. Do 
barbarians treat their king’s daughters thus ? She 
J is too fair, at least, to have done any wrong. I io 
will speak to her.” 

And, lifting the hat from his head, he flashed 
into her sight. She shrieked with terror, and 
tried to hide her face with her hair, for she could 
not with her hands ; but Perseus cried — 

“ Do not fear me, fair one ; I am a Hellen, and 
no barbarian. What cruel men have bound you? 
But first I will set you free.” 

And he tore at the fetters, but they were too 
! strong for him ; while the maiden cried — 20 

“ Touch me not ; I am accursed, devoted as a 
victim to the sea-Gods. They will slay you, if 
you dare to set me free.” 


50 


THE HEROES 


“ Let them try,” said Perseus ; and drawing 
Herpe from his thigh, he cut through the brass as 
if it had been flax. 

“Now,” he said, “you belong to me, and not to 
these sea-Gods, whosoever they may be ! ” But 
she only called the more on her mother. 

“ Why call on your mother ? She can be no 
mother to have left you here. If a bird is dropped 
out of the nest, it belongs to the man who picks it 
io up. If a jewel is cast by the wayside, it is his 
who dare win it and wear it, as I will win you and 
will wear you. I know now why Pallas Athene 
sent me hither. She sent me to gain a prize 
worth all my toil and more.” 

And he clasped her in his arms, and cried : 
“ Where are these sea-Gods, cruel and unjust, who 
doom fair maids to death ? I carry the weapons 
of Immortals. Let them measure their strength 
against mine ! But tell me, maiden, who you are, 
20 and what dark fate brought you here.” 

And she answered, weeping — 

“ I am the daughter of Cepheus, King of Iopa, 
Ce'pheus. Io'pa (modern Jaffa). 


PERSEUS 


51 


and my mother is Cassiopoeia of the beautiful 
tresses, and they called me Andromeda, as long 
as life was mine. And I stand bound here, 
hapless that I am, for the sea-monster’s food, to 
atone for my mother’s sin. For she boasted of 
me once that I was fairer than the Queen of the 
Fishes ; so she in her wrath sent the sea-floods, 
and her brother the Fire King sent the earth- 
quakes, and wasted all the land, and after the 
floods a monster bred of the slime who devours io 
all living things. And now he must devour me, 
guiltless though I am — me who never harmed a 
living thing, nor saw a fish upon the shore but I 
gave it life, and threw it back into the sea ; for 
in our land we eat no fish, for fear of their 
queen. Yet the priests say that nothing but 
my blood can atone for a sin which I never 
committed.” 

But Perseus laughed, and said, “ A sea-monster ? 

I have fought with worse than him : I would have 2 o 
faced Immortals for your sake : how much more a 
beast of the sea ? ” 

Cas-si-o-poe'ia. 




An-drom'e-da. 


52 


THE HEROES 


Then Andromeda looked up at him, and new 
hope was kindled in her breast, so proud and fair 
did he stand, with one hand round her, and in 
the other the glittering sword. But she only 
sighed, and wept the more, and cried — 

“ Why will you die, young as you are? Is there 
not death and sorrow enough in the world already ? 
It is noble for me to die, that I may save the lives 
of a whole people ; but you, better than them all, 
io why should I slay you too? Go you your way ; 
I must go mine.” 

But Perseus cried: “Not so ; for the Lords of 
Olympus, whom I serve, are the friends of the 
heroes, and help them on to noble deeds. Led 
by them, I slew the Gorgon, the beautiful horror ; 
and not without them do I come hither, to slay 
this monster with that same Gorgon’s head. Yet 
hide your eyes when I leave you, lest the sight of 
it freeze you too to stone.” 

20 But the maiden answered nothing, for she could 
not believe his words. And then, suddenly 
looking up, she pointed to the sea, and shrieked — 
“ There he comes, with the sunrise, as they 


PERSEUS 


53 


promised. I must die now. How shall I endure 
it ? Oh, go ! Is it not dreadful enough to be 
torn piecemeal, without having you to look on ? ” 
And she tried to thrust him away. 

But he said : “ I go ; yet promise me one thing 
ere I go : that if I slay this beast you will be my 
wife, and come back with me to my kingdom in 
fruitful Argos, for I am a king’s heir. Promise 
me, and seal it with a kiss.” 

Then she lifted up her face, and kissed him ; io 
and Perseus laughed for joy, and flew upward, 
while Andromeda crouched trembling on the rock, 
waiting for what might befall. 

On came the great sea-monster, coasting along 
like a huge black galley, lazily breasting the ripple, 
and stopping at times by creek or headland to 
watch for the laughter of girls at their bleaching, 
or cattle pawing on the sand-hills, or boys bathing 
on the beach. His great sides were fringed with 
clustering shells and sea- weeds, and the water 20 
gurgled in and out of his wide jaws, as he rolled 
along, dripping and glistening in the beams of the 
morning sun. 


54 


THE HEROES 


At last he saw Andromeda, and shot forward 
to take his prey, while the waves foamed white 
behind him, and before him the fish fled leaping. 

Then down from the height of the air fell 
Perseus like a shooting star ; down to the crests 
of the waves, while Andromeda hid her face as 
he shouted ; and then there was silence for a 
while. 

At last she looked up trembling, and saw 
io Perseus springing toward her ; and instead of the 
monster a long black rock, with the sea rippling 
quietly round it. 

Who then so proud as Perseus, as he leapt back 
to the rock, and lifted his fair Andromeda in his 
arms, and flew with her to the cliff-top, as a falcon 
carries a dove ? 

Who so proud as Perseus, and who so joyful as 
all the iEthiop people ? For they had stood 
watching the monster from the cliffs, wailing for 
20 the maiden’s fate. And already a messenger had 
gone to Cepheus and Cassiopoeia, where they sat 
in sackcloth and ashes on the ground, in the inner- 
most palace chambers, awaiting their daughter’s 


PERSEUS 


55 


end. And they came, and all the city with them, 
to see the wonder, with songs and with dances, 
with cymbals and harps, and received their 
daughter back again, as one alive from the dead. 

Then Cepheus said, “ Hero of the Hellens, stay 
here with me and be my son-in-law, and I will give 
you the half of my kingdom.” 

“ I will be your son-in-law,” said Perseus, “ but 
of your kingdom I will have none, for I long after 
the pleasant land of Greece, and my mother who 10 
waits for me at home.” 

Then Cepheus said, “You must not take my 
daughter away at once, for she is to us like one 
alive from the dead. Stay with us here a year, 
and after that you shall return with honour.” And 
Perseus consented ; but before he went to the 
palace he bade the people bring stones and wood, 
and built three altars, one to Athene, and one to 
Hermes, and one to Father Zeus, and offered 
bullocks and rams. 2 ° 

And some said, “ This is a pious man ; ” yet the 
priest said, “The Sea Queen will be yet more 
fierce against us, because her monster is slain.” 


56 


THE HEROES 


But they were afraid to speak aloud, for they feared 
the Gorgon’s head. So they went up to the palace ; 
and when they came in, there stood in the hall 
Phineus, the brother of Cepheus, chafing like a 
bear robbed of her whelps, and with him his sons, 
and his servants, and many an armed man ; and 
he cried to Cepheus — 

“ You shall not marry your daughter to this 
stranger, of whom no one knows even the name, 
io Was not Andromeda betrothed to my son? And 
now she is safe again, has he not aright to claim her ? ” 
But Perseus laughed, and answered : “ If your 
son is in want of a bride, let him save a maiden 
for himself. As yet he seems but a helpless bride- 
groom. He left this one to die, and dead she is 
to him. I saved her alive, and alive she is to me, 
but to no one else. Ungrateful man ! have I not 
saved your land, and the lives of your sons and 
daughters, and will yon requite me thus ? Go, or 
20 it will be worse for you.” But all the men-at-arms 
drew their swords, and rushed on him like wild 
beasts. 


Phi'neus (fi'nus or fin'e-us). 


PERSEUS 


57 


Then he unveiled the Gorgon’s head, and said, 

“ This has delivered my bride from one wild beast * 
it shall deliver her from many.” And as he spoke 
Phineus and all his men-at-arms stopped short, and 
stiffened each man as he stood ; and before Perseus 
had drawn the goat-skin over the face again, they 
were all turned into stone. 

Then Perseus bade the people bring levers and 
roll them out ; and what was done with them after 
that I cannot tell. io 

So they made a great wedding-feast, which 
lasted seven whole days, and who so happy as 
Perseus and Andromeda? 

But on the eighth night Perseus dreamed a 
dream ; and he saw standing beside him Pallas 
Athene, as he had seen her in Seriphos, seven 
long years before ; and she stood and called him 
by name, and said — 

“Perseus, you have played the man, and see, 
you have your reward. Know now that the Gods 20 
are just, and help him who helps himself. Now 
give me here Herpe the sword, and the sandals, 
and the hat of darkness, that I may give them back 


58 


THE HEROES 


to their owners ; but the Gorgon’s head you shall 
keep awhile, for you will need it in your land of 
Greece. Then you shall lay it up in my temple 
at Seriphos, that I may wear it on my shield for 
ever, a terror to the Titans and the monsters, 
and the foes of Gods and men. And as for this 
land, I have appeased the sea and the fire, and 
there shall be no more floods nor earthquakes. 
But let the people build altars to Father Zeus, 
io and to me, and worship the Immortals, the Lords 
of heaven and earth.” 

And Perseus rose to give her the sword, and 
the cap, and the sandals ; but he woke, and his 
dream vanished away. And yet it was not alto- 
gether a dream ; for the goat-skin with the head 
was in its place ; but the sword, and the cap, and 
the sandals were gone, and Perseus never saw them 
more. 


PART V 


HOW PERSEUS CAME HOME AGAIN 

And when a year was ended Perseus hired 
Phoenicians from Tyre, and cut down cedars, and 
built himself a noble galley ; and painted its 
cheeks with vermilion, and pitched its sides with 
pitch; and in it he put Andromeda, and all her 
dowry of jewels, and rich shawls, and spices from 
the East ; and great was the weeping when they 
rowed away. But the remembrance of his brave 
deed was left behind ; and Andromeda’s rock 
was shown at Iopa in Palestine till more than a io 
thousand years were past. 

So Perseus and the Phoenicians rowed to the 
westward, across the sea of Crete, till they came 
to the blue Aegean and the pleasant Isles of Hellas, 
and Seriphos, his ancient home. 


Plice-nic'i-an (fe-nish r i-an). 

59 


JE-ge'an. 


Hel'las. 


60 


THE HEROES 


Then he left his galley on the beach, and went 
up as of old; and he embraced his mother, and 
Dictys his good foster-father, and they wept over 
each other a long while, for it was seven years and 
more since they had met. 

Then Perseus went out, and up to the hall of 
Polydectes ; and underneath the goat-skin he bore 
the Gorgon’s head. 

And when he came into the hall, Polydectes sat 
io at the table-head, and all his nobles and land- 
owners on either side, each according to his rank, 
feasting on the fish and the goat’s flesh, and drink- 
ing the blood-red wine. The harpers harped, and 
the revellers shouted, and the wine-cups rang mer- 
rily as they passed from hand to hand, and great 
was the noise in the hall of Polydectes. 

Then Perseus stood upon the threshold, and 
called to the king by name. But none of the 
guests knew Perseus, for he was changed by his 
20 long journey. He had gone out a boy, and he 
was come home a hero; his eye shone like an 
eagle’s, and his beard was like a lion’s beard, and 
he stood up like a wild bull in his pride. 


PERSEUS 


61 


But Polydectes the wicked knew him, and 
hardened his heart still more ; and scornfully he 
called — 

“ Ah, foundling ! have you found it more easy 
to promise than to fulfil ? ” 

“ Those whom the* Gods help fulfil their prom- 
ises ; and those who despise them, reap as they 
have sown. Behold the Gorgon’s head ! ” 

Then Perseus drew back the goat-skin, and held 
aloft the Gorgon’s head. io 

Pale grew Polydectes and his guests as they 
looked upon that dreadful face. They tried to 
rise up from their seats : but from their seats they 
never rose, but stiffened, each man where he sat, 
into a ring of cold grey stones. 

Then Perseus turned and left them, and went 
down to his galley in the bay ; and he gave the 
kingdom to good Dictys, and sailed away with his 
mother and his bride. 

And Polydectes and his guests sat still, with 20 
the wine-cups before them on the board, till the 
rafters crumbled down above their heads, and the 
walls behind their backs, and the table crumbed 


62 


THE HEROES 


down between them, and the grass sprung up about 
their feet : but Polydectes and his guests sit on 
the hillside, a ring of grey stones until this day. 

But Perseus rowed westward toward Argos, and 
landed, and went up to the town. And when he 
came, he found that Aerisius his grandfather had 
fled. For Proetus his wicked brother had made 
war against him afresh ; and had come across the 
river from Tiryns, and conquered Argos, and 
io Aerisius had fled to Larissa, in the country of the 
wild Pelasgi. 

Then Perseus called the Argives together, and 
told them who he was, and all the noble deeds 
which he had done. And all the nobles and 
yeomen made him king, for they saw that he 
had a royal heart ; and they fought with him 
against Argos, and took it, and killed Proetus, 
and made the Cyclopes serve them, and build them 
walls round Argos, like the walls which they had 
20 built at Tiryns; and there were great rejoicings 
in the vale of Argos, because they had got a 
king from Father Zeus. 

La-ris'sa. Pe-las'gi. 


Ar'gives. 


PERSEUS 


63 


But Perseus’ heart yearned after his grand- 
father, and he said, 44 Surely he is my flesh and 
blood, and he will love me now that I am 
come home with honour : I will go and find him, 
and bring him home, and we will reign together 
in peace.” 

So Perseus sailed away with his Phoenicians, 
round Hydrea and Sunium, past Marathon and 
the Attic shore, and through Euripus, and up the 
Euboean sea, till he came to the town of Larissa, 10 
where the wild Pelasgi dwelt. 

And when he came there, all the people were in 
the fields, and there was feasting, and all kinds 
of games ; for Teutamenes their king wished to 
honour Acrisius, because he was the king of a 
mighty land. 

So Perseus did not tell his name, but went up 
to the games unknown ; for he said, 44 If I carry 
away the prize in the games, my grandfather’s 
heart will be softened toward me.” 20 

So he threw off his helmet, and his cuirass, and 

Hyd're-a. Su'ni-um. Eu-ri'pus. 

Eu-boe'an. Teu-ta'inen-es. 


64 


THE HEROES 


all his clothes, and stood among the youths of La- 
rissa, while all wondered at him, and said : “ Who is 
this young stranger, who stands like a wild bull 
in his pride ? Surely he is one of the heroes, the 
sons of the Immortals, from Olympus.” 

And when the games began, they wondered yet 
more ; for Perseus was the best man of all at 
running, and leaping, and wrestling, and throwing 
the javelin ; and he won four crowns, and took 
io them, and then he said to himself, 4 4 There is a fifth 
crown yet to be won : I will win that, and lay 
them all upon the knees of my grandfather.” 

And as he spoke, he saw where Acrisius sat, by 
the side of Teutamenes the king, with his white 
beard flowing down upon his knees, and his royal 
staff in his hand; and Perseus wept when he 
looked at him, for his heart yearned after his kin ; 
and he said, “ Surely he is a kingly old man, yet he 
need not be ashamed of his grandson.” 

20 Then he took the quoits and hurled them, five 
fathoms beyond all the rest ; and the people 
shouted : “ Further yet, brave stranger ! There 
has never been such a hurler in this land.” 


PERSEUS 


65 


Then Perseus put out all his strength, and 
hurled. But a gust of wind came from the sea, 
and carried the quoit aside, and far beyond all the 
rest ; and it fell on the foot of Acrisius, and 
he swooned away with the pain. 

Perseus shrieked, and ran up to him ; but when 
they lifted the old man up he was dead, for his 
life was slow and feeble. 

Then Perseus rent his clothes, and cast dust 
upon his head, and wept a long while for his io 
grandfather. At last he rose, and called to all the 
people aloud, and said — 

“ The Gods are true, and what they have ordained 
must be. I am Perseus, the grandson of this dead 
man, the far-famed slayer of the Gorgon.” 

Then he told them how the prophecy had declared 
that he should kill his grandfather, and all the 
story of his life. 

So they made a great mourning for Acrisius, 
and burnt him on a right rich pile ; and Perseus 20 
went to the temple, and was purified from the 
guilt of the death, because he had done it un- 
knowingly. 


66 


THE HEROES 


Then he went home to Argos, and reigned there 
well with fair Andromeda ; and they had four 
sons and three daughters, and died in a good old 
age. 

And when they died, the ancients say, Athene 
took them up into the sky, with Cepheus and 
Cassiopoeia. And there on starlight nights you may 
see them shining still ; Cepheus with his kingly 
crown, and Cassiopoeia in her ivory chair, plaiting 
io her star-spangled tresses, and Perseus with the 
Gorgon’s head, and fair Andromeda beside him, 
spreading her long white arms across the heaven, 
as she stood when chained to the stone for the 
monster. All night long they shine, for a beacon 
to wandering sailors ; but all day they feast with 
the Gods, on the still blue peaks of Olympus. 


STORY II. — THE ARGONAUT 


PART I 

HOW THE CENTAUR TRAINED THE HEROES 
ON PELION 

I HAVE told you of a hero who fought with wild 
beasts and with wild men ; but now I have a tale 
of heroes who sailed away into a distant land, to 
win themselves renown for ever, in the adventure 
of the Golden Fleece. 

Whither they sailed, my children, I cannot 
clearly tell. It all happened long ago ; so long 
that it has all grown dim, like a dream which you 
dreamt last year. And why they went I cannot 
tell : some say that it was to win gold. It may be 10 
so ; but the noblest deeds which have been done 
on earth have not been done for gold. 

Ar'go-naut. Pe'li-on. Cen'taur. 

67 


68 


THE HEROES 


And what was that first Golden Fleece ? I do 
not know, nor care. The old Hellens said that it 
hnng in Colchis, which we call the Circassian 
coast, nailed to a beech tree in the W ar-god’s wood ; 
and that it was the fleece of the wondrous ram 
who bore Phrixus and Helle across the Euxine sea. 
For Phrixus and Helle were the children of the 
cloud-nymph, and of Athamas the Minuan king. 
And when a famine came upon the land, their cruel 
io stepmother Ino wished to kill them, that her own 
children might reign, and said that they must be 
sacrificed on an altar, to turn away the anger of 
the Gods. So the poor children were brought 
to the altar, and the priest stood ready with his 
knife, when out of the clouds came the Golden 
Ram, and took them on his back, and vanished. 
Then madness came upon that foolish king, Atha- 
mas, and ruin upon Ino and her children. For 
Athamas killed one of them in his fury, and Ino 


Col'chis. 

Cir-cas'si-an (kasli'i-an). 
Phrix'us. 

Hel'le. 


Eux'ine. 

Ath'a-mas. 

Min'u-an. 

Pno 


THE ARGONAUTS 


69 


fled from him with the other in her arms, and 
leapt from a cliff into the sea, and was changed 
into a dolphin, such as you have seen, which wan- 
ders over the waves for ever sighing, with its little 
one clasped to its breast. 

But the people drove out King Athamas, because 
he had killed his child ; and he roamed about in 
his misery, till he came to the Oracle in Delphi. 
And the Oracle told him that he must wander for 
his sin, till the wild beasts should feast him as io 
their guest. So he went on in hunger and sorrow 
for many a weary day, till he saw a pack of wolves. 
The wolves were tearing a sheep ; but when they 
saw Athamas they fled, and left the sheep for him, 
and he ate of it ; and then he knew that the oracle 
was fulfilled at last. So he wandered no more ; but 
settled, and built a town, and became a king again. 

But the ram carried the two children far away 
over land and sea, till he came to the Thracian 
Chersonese, and there Helle fell into the sea. So 20 
those narrow straits are called u Hellespont,” after 
her ; and they bear that name until this day. 

Del'phi. Cher-so-nese'. 


70 


THE HEROES 


Then the ram flew on with Phrixus to the north- 
east across the sea which we call the Black Sea now; 
but the Hellens call it Euxine. And at last, they 
say, he stopped at Colchis, on the steep Circassian 
coast ; and there Phrixus married Chalciope, the 
daughter of Aietes the king ; and offered the ram 
in sacrifice; and Aietes nailed the ram’s fleece to 
a beech, in the grove of Ares the War-god. 

And after a while Phrixus died, and was buried, 
io but his spirit had no rest ; for he was buried far 
from his native land, and the pleasant hills of 
Hellas. So he came in dreams to the heroes of the 
Minuai, and called sadly by their beds, “ Come 
and set my spirit free, that I may go home to my 
fathers and to my kinsfolk, and the pleasant Min- 
uan land.” 

And they asked, “ How shall we set your spirit 
free ? ” 

“You must sail over the sea to Colchis, and 
20 bring home the golden fleece ; and then my spirit 
will come back with it, and I shall sleep with my 
fathers and have rest.” 

Chal-ci'o-pe. Ai-e'tes. A'res. Min'u-ai. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


71 


He came thus, and called to them often ; but 
when they woke they looked at each other, and 
said, “ Who dare sail to Colchis, or bring home 
the golden fleece ? ” And in all the country none 
was brave enough to try it ; for the man and the 
time were not come. 

Phrixus had a cousin called iEson, who was 
king in Iolcos by the sea. There he ruled over 
the rich Minuan heroes, as Athamas his uncle 
ruled in Boeotia ; and, like Athamas, he was an io 
unhappy man. For he had a stepbrother named 
Pelias, of whom some said that he was a nymph’s 
son, and there were dark and sad tales about his 
birth. When he was a babe he was cast out on 
the mountains, and a wild mare came by and 
kicked him. But a shepherd, passing found the 
baby, with its face all blackened by the blow ; 
and took him home, and called him Pelias, because 
his face was bruised and black. And he grew up 
fierce and lawless, and did many a fearful deed ; 2 o 
and at last he drove out iEson his stepbrother, 


iE'son. 

I-ol'cos. 


Bce-o'ti-a (be-o'shi-a). 
Pe'li-as. 


72 


THE HEROES 


and then his own brother Neleus, and took the 
kingdom to himself, and ruled over the rich Min- 
uan heroes, in Iolcos by the sea. 

And iEson, when he was driven out, went sadly 
away out of the town, leading his little son by the 
hand; and he said to himself, “I must hide the 
child in the mountains ; or Pelias will surely kill 
him, because he is the heir.” 

So he went up from the sea across the valley, 
io through the vineyards and the olive groves, and 
across the torrent of Anauros, toward Pelion the 
ancient mountain, whose brows are white with 
snow. 

He went up and up into the mountain, over 
marsh, and crag, and down, till the boy was tired 
and footsore, and ^Eson had to bear him in his 
arms, till he came to the mouth of a lonely cave, 
at the foot of a mighty cliff. 

Above the cliff the snow-wreaths hung, dripping 
20 and cracking in the sun ; but at its foot around the 
cave’s mouth grew all fair flowers and herbs, as if 
in a garden, ranged in order, each sort by itself. 

Ne'leus. A-nau'ros. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


73 


There they grew gaily in the sunshine, and the 
spray of the torrent from above ; while from the 
cave came the sound of music, and a man’s voice 
singing to the harp. 

Then ^Eson put down the lad, and whispered — 

“ Fear not, but go in, and whomsoever you shall 
find, lay your hands upon his knees and say, ‘ In 
the name of Zeus, the father of Gods and men, I 
am your guest from this day forth.’ ” 

Then the lad went in without trembling, for he io 
too was a hero’s son ; but when he was within, 
he stopped in wonder to listen to that magic 
song. 

And there he saw the singer lying upon bear- 
skins and fragrant boughs : Cheiron, the ancient 
Centaur, the wisest of all things beneath the sky. 
Down to the waist he was a man, but below he 
was a noble horse ; his white hair rolled down over 
his broad shoulders, and his white beard over his 
broad brown chest; and his eyes were wise and 20 
mild, and his forehead like a mountain wall. 

And in his hands he held a harp of gold, and 
Chei'ron. 


74 


THE HEROES 


struck it with a golden key ; and as he struck, he 
sang till his eyes glittered, and filled all the cave 
with l^ght. 

And he sang of the birth of Time, and of the 
heavens and the dancing stars ; and of the ocean, 
and the ether, and the fire, and the shaping of the 
wondrous earth. And he sang of the treasures of 
the hills, and the hidden jewels of the mine, and 
the veins of fire and metal, and the virtues of all 
io healing herbs, and of the speech of birds, and of 
prophecy, and of hidden things to come. 

Then he sang of health, and strength, and man- 
hood, and a valiant heart ; and of music, and hunt- 
ing, and wrestling, and all the games which heroes 
love ; and of travel, and wars, and sieges, and a 
noble death in fight ; and then he sang of peace 
and plenty, and of equal justice in the land ; and 
as he sang the boy listened wide-eyed, and forgot 
his errand in the song. 

20 And at the last old Cheiron was silent, and called 
the lad with a soft voice. 

And the lad ran trembling to him, and would 
have laid his hands upon his knees ; but Cheiron 


THE ARGONAUTS 


75 


smiled, and said, “ Call hither your father iEson, 
for I know you, and all that has befallen, and saw 
you both afar in the valley, even before you left 
the town.” 

Then jEson came in sadly, and Cheiron asked 
him, “ Why earnest you not yourself to me, ACson 
the jEolid ? ” 

And jEson said — 

“ I thought, Cheiron will pity the lad if he sees 
him come alone ; and I wished to try whether he io 
was fearless, and dare venture like a hero’s son. 
But now I entreat you by Father Zeus, let the 
boy be your guest till better times, and train him 
among the sons of the heroes, that he may avenge 
his father’s house.” 

Then Cheiron smiled, and drew the lad to him, 
and laid his hand upon his golden locks, and said, 

“ Are you afraid of my horse’s hoofs, fair boy, or 
will you be my pupil from this day ? ” 

“ I would gladly have horse’s hoofs, like you, if 1 20 
could sing such songs as yours.” 

And Cheiron laughed, and said, “Sit here by 
JE-ol'id. 


76 


THE HEROES 


me till sundown, when your playfellows will come 
home, and you shall learn like them to be a king, 
worthy to rule over gallant men.” 

Then he turned to AEson, and said : “ Go back in 
peace, and bend before the storm like a prudent 
man. This boy shall not cross the Anauros again, 
till he has become a glory to you and to the house 
of AEolus.” 

And AEson wept over his son and went away; 
io but the boy did not weep, so full was his fancy of 
that strange cave, and the Centaur, and his song, 
and the playfellows whom he was to see. 

Then Cheiron put the lyre into his hands, and 
taught him how to play it, till the sun sank low 
behind the cliff, and a shout was heard outside. 

And then in came the sons of the heroes, AEneas, 
and Heracles, and Peleus,and many another mighty 
name. 

iE-o'lus. iEson was the grandson of iE-o'lus, a ruler of 
Thessaly. 

JE-ne'as. A Trojan hero, who, escaping from Troy, is said 
to have founded the Roman nation. 

Pe'leus. The father of Achilles. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


77 


And great Cheiron leapt up joyfully, and his 
hoofs made the cave resound, as they shouted, 
“Come out, Father Cheiron; come out and see 
our game.” And one cried, “I have killed two 
deer ; ” and another, “ I took a wild cat among the 
crags ; ” and Heracles dragged a wild goat after 
him by its horns, for he was as huge as a mountain 
crag ; and Cseneus carried a bear-cub under each 
arm, and laughed when they scratched and bit, for 
neither tooth nor steel could wound him. io 

And Cheiron praised them all, each according 
to his deserts. 

Only one walked apart and silent, Asclepius, 
the too-wise child, with his bosom full of herbs 
and flowers, and round his wrist a spotted snake ; 
he came with downcast eyes to Cheiron, and whis- 
pered how he had watched the snake cast its old 
skin, and grow young again before his eyes, and 
how he had gone down into a village in the vale, 
and cured a dying man with an herb which he had 20 
seen a sick goat eat. 

And Cheiron smiled, and said, “ To each Athene 

As-cle'pi-us. 


Cae'neus. 


78 


THE HEROES 


and Apollo give some gift, and each is worthy in his 
place ; but to this child they have given an honour 
beyond all honours, to cure while others kill.” 

Then the lads brought in wood, and split it, 
and lighted a blazing fire ; and others skinned 
the deer and quartered them, and set them to 
roast before the fire ; and while the venison was 
cooking they bathed in the snow-torrent, and 
washed away the dust and sweat, 
io And then all ate till they could eat no more 
(for they had tasted nothing since the dawn), 
and drank of the clear spring water, for wine is 
not fit for growing lads. And when the remnants 
were put away, they all lay dowli upon the skins 
and leaves about the fire, and each took the lyre 
in turn, and sang and played with all his heart. 

And after a while they all went out to a plot of 
grass at the cave’s mouth, and there they boxed, 
and ran, and wrestled, and laughed till the stones 
20 fell from the cliffs. 

A-pol'lo. The son of Zeus, and a sun god. He was patron 
of poetry, music, and the arts of prophecy and healing. He is 
often called Phce'bus Apollo. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


79 


Then Cheiron took his lyre, and all the lads 
joined hands ; and as he played, they danced to 
his measure, in and out, and round and round. 
There they danced hand in hand, till the night 
fell over land and sea, while the black glen shone 
with their broad white limbs and the gleam of their 
golden hair. 

And the lad danced with them, delighted, and 
then slept a wholesome sleep, upon fragrant leaves 
of bay, and myrtle, and marjoram, and flowers of io 
thyme ; and rose at the dawn, and bathed in the 
torrent, and became a schoolfellow to the heroes’ 
sons, and forgot Iolcos, and his father, and all his 
former life. But he grew strong, and brave, and 
cunning, upon the pleasant downs of Pelion, in 
the keen hungry mountain air. And he learnt 
to wrestle, and to box, and to hunt, and to play 
upon the harp ; and next he learnt to ride, for 
old Cheiron used to mount him on his back ; and 
he learnt the virtues of all herbs, and how to cure 20 
all wounds ; and Cheiron called him Jason the 
healer, and that is his name until this day. 


PART II 


HOW JASON LOST HIS SANDAL IN ANAUROS 

And ten years came and went, and Jason was 
grown to be a mighty man. Some of his fellows 
were gone, and some were growing up by his 
side. Asclepius was gone into Peloponnese to 
work his wondrous cures on men ; and some say 
he used to raise the dead to life. And Heracles 
was gone to Thebes to fulfil those famous labours 
which have become a proverb among men. And 
Peleus had married a sea-nymph, and his wedding 
10 is famous to this day. And iEneas was gone 
home to Troy, and many a noble tale you will 
read of him, and of all the other gallant heroes, 
the scholars of Cheiron the just. And it happened 
on a day that Jason stood on the mountain, and 
looked north and south and east and west ; and 
Pel-o-pon-nese'. 

80 


THE ARGONAUTS 


81 


Cheiron stood by him and watched him, for he 
knew that , the time was come. 

And Jason looked and saw the plains of Thessaly, 
where the Lapithai breed their horses ; and the 
lake of Boebe, and the stream which runs north- 
ward to Peneus and Tempe ; and he looked north, 
and saw the mountain wall which guards the Mag- 
nesian shore ; Olympus, the seat of the Immortals, 
and Ossa, and Pelion, where he stood. Then he 
looked east and saw the bright blue sea, which io 
stretched away for ever toward the dawn. Then 
he looked south, and saw a pleasant land, with 
white-walled towns and farms, nestling along the 
shore of a land-locked bay, while the smoke rose 
blue among the trees ; and he knew it for the bay 
of Pagasai, and the rich lowlands of Hsemonia, and 
Iolcos by the sea. 

Then he sighed, and asked, “ Is it true what the 
heroes tell me — that I am heir of that fair land?” 

“And what good would it be to you, Jason, if 20 
you were heir of that fair land ? ” 

“ I would take it and keep it.” 

Lap'i-thai. Boe'bd Pe-ne'us. Pag'a-sai. Hse-mo'ni-a. 


82 


THE HEROES 


“ A strong man lias taken it and kept it long. 
Are you stronger than Pelias the terrible ? ” 

“ I can try my strength with his,” said Jason ; but 
Cheiron sighed, and said — 

“ You have many a danger to go through before 
you rule in Iolcos by the sea : many a danger and 
many a woe ; and strange troubles in strange lands, 
such as man never saw before.” 

“The happier I,” said Jason, “ to see what man 
io never saw before.” 

And Cheiron sighed again, and said, “ The ea- 
glet must leave the nest when it is fledged. Will 
you go to Iolcos by the sea ? Then promise me 
two things before you go.” 

Jason promised, and Cheiron answered, “ Speak 
harshly to no soul whom you may meet, and stand 
by the word which you shall speak.” 

Jason wondered why Cheiron asked this of him ; 
but he knew that the Centaur was a prophet, and 
20 saw things long before they came. So he promised, 
and leapt down the mountain, to take his fortune 
like a man. 

He went down through the arbutus thickets, 


THE ARGONAUTS 


83 


and across the downs of thyme, till he came to the 
vineyard walls, and the pomegranates and the 
olives in the glen ; and among the olives roared 
Anauros, all foaming with a summer flood. 

And on the bank of Anauros sat a woman, all 
wrinkled, grey, and old ; her head shook palsied 
on her breast, and her hands shook palsied on her 
knees ; and when she saw Jason, she spoke whining, 

“ Who will carry me across the flood ? ” 

Jason was bold and hasty, and was just going to io 
leap into the flood : and yet he thought twice be- 
fore he leapt, so loud roared the torrent down, all 
brown from the mountain rains, and silver-veined 
with melting snow ; while underneath he could hear 
the boulders rumbling like the tramp of horsemen 
or the roll of wheels, as they ground along the nar- 
row channel, and shook the rocks on which he stood. 

But the old woman whined all the more, “ I am 
weak and old, fair youth. For Hera’s sake, carry 
me over the torrent.” 20 

And Jason was going to answer her scornfully, 
when Cheiron’s words come to his mind. 


He'ra. 


84 


THE HEROES 


So he said, “ For Hera’s sake, the Queen of the 
Immortals on Olympus, I will carry you over the 
torrent, unless we both are drowned midway.” 

Then the old dame leapt upon his back, as 
nimbly as a goat ; and Jason staggered in, won 
dering ; and the first step was up to his knees. 

The first step was up to his knees, and the 
second step was up to his waist ; and the stones 
rolled about his feet, and his feet slipped about the 
io stones ; so he went on staggering and panting, 
while the old woman cried from off his back — 

“ Fool, you have wet my mantle ! Do you make 
game of poor old souls like me ? ” 

Jason had half a mind to drop her, and let her 
get through the torrent by herself ; but Cheiron’s 
words were in his mind, and he said only, “ Patience, 
mother ; the best horse may stumble some day.” 

At last he staggered to the shore, and set hex- 
down upon the bank ; and a strong man he needed 
20 to have been, or that wild water he never would 
have crossed. 

He lay panting awhile upon the bank, and then 
leapt up to go upon his journey ; but he cast one 


THE ARGONAUTS 


85 


look at the old woman, for he thought, “ She should 
thank me once at least.” 

And as he looked, she grew fairer than all 
women, and taller than all men on earth ; and her 
garments shone like the summer sea, and her jewels 
like the stars of heaven ; and over her forehead 
was a veil, woven of the golden clouds of sunset ; 
and through the veil she looked down on him, with 
great soft heifer’s eyes ; with great eyes, mild and 
awful, which filled all the glen with light. io 

And Jason fell upon his knees, and hid his face 
between his hands. 

And she spoke: “I am the Queen of Olympus, 
Hera the wife of Zeus. As thou hast done to me, 
so will I do to thee. Call on me in the hour of 
need, and try if the Immortals can forget.” 

And when Jason looked up, she rose from off 
the earth, like a pillar of tall white cloud, and 
floated away across the mountain peaks, toward 
Olympus the holy hill. 20 

Then a great fear fell on Jason: but after a 
while he grew light of heart ; and he blessed old 
Cheiron, and said, “ Surely the Centaur is a 


86 


THE HEROES 


prophet, and guessed what would come to pass, 
when he bade me speak harshly to no soul whom 
I might meet.” 

Then he went down toward Iolcos; and as 
he walked he found that he had lost one of his 
sandals in the flood. 

And as he went through the streets, the people 
came out to- look at him, so tall and fair was he ; 
but some of the elders whispered together ; and 
io at last one of them stopped Jason, and called to 
him, “Fair lad, who are you, and whence come 
you ; and what is your errand in the town ? ” 

“My name, good father, is Jason, and I come 
from Pelion up above ; and my errand is to Pelias 
your king ; tell me then where his palace is.” 

But the old man started, and grew pale, and 
said, “ Do you not know the oracle, my son, that 
you go so boldly through the town with but one 
sandal on ? ” 

20 “ I am a stranger here, and know of no oracle ; 

but what of my one sandal ? I lost the other in 
Anauros, while I was struggling with the flood.” 

Then the old man looked back to his com- 


THE ARGONAUTS 


87 


panions ; and one sighed, and another smiled ; at 
last he said : “ I will tell you, lest you rush upon 
your ruin unawares. The oracle in Delphi has 
said that a man wearing one sandal should take 
the kingdom from Pelias, and keep it for himself. 
Therefore beware how you go up to his palace, 
for he is the fiercest and most cunning of all 
kings.” 

Then Jason laughed a great laugh, like a war- 
horse in his pride. “ Good news, good father, io 
both for you and me. For that very end I came 
into the town.” 

Then he strode on toward the palace of Pelias, 
while all the people wondered at his bearing. 

And he stood in the doorway and cried, “ Come 
out, come out, Pelias the valiant, and fight for 
your kingdom like a man.” 

Pelias came out wondering, and “ Who are you, 
bold youth ? ” he cried. 

“ I am Jason, the son of ACson, the heir of all 20 
this land.” 

Then Pelias lifted up his hands and eyes, and 
wept, or seemed to weep ; and blessed the heavens 


88 


THE HEROES 


which had brought his nephew to him, never to 
leave him more. “ For,” said he, “ I have but three 
daughters, and no son to be my heir. You shall 
be my heir then, and rule the kingdom after me, 
and marry whichsoever of my daughters you shall 
choose ; though a sad kingdom you will find it, 
and whosoever rules it a miserable man. But 
come in, come in, and feast.” 

So he drew Jason in, whether he would or not, 
ioand spoke to him so lovingly and feasted him so 
well, that Jason’s anger passed ; and after supper 
his three cousins came into the hall, and Jason 
thought that he should like well enough to have 
one of them for his wife. 

But at last he said to Pelias : “ Why do you look 
so sad, my uncle ? And what did you mean just 
now when you said that this was a doleful king- 
dom, and its ruler a miserable man ? ” 

Then Pelias sighed heavily again and again 
20 and again, like a man who had to tell some dread- 
ful story, and was afraid to begin ; but at last — 

“ For seven long years and more have I never 
known a quiet night ; and no more will he who 


THE ARGONAUTS 


89 


comes after me, till the golden fleece be brought 
home.” 

Then he told Jason the story of Phrixus, and 
of the golden fleece ; and told him, too, which 
was a lie, that Phrixus’ spirit tormented him, 
calling to him day and night. And his daughters 
came, and told the same tale (for their father had 
taught them their parts), and wept, and said, 

“ Oh, who will bring home the golden fleece, 
that our uncle’s spirit may rest ; and that we io 
may have rest also, whom he never lets sleep in 
peace ? ” 

Jason sat awhile, sad and silent ; for he had 
often heard of that golden fleece ; but he looked 
on it as a thing hopeless and impossible for any 
mortal man to win. 

But when Pelias saw him silent, he began to 
talk of other things, and courted Jason more and 
more, speaking to him as if he was certain to be 
his heir, and asking his advice about the king-20 
dom ; till Jason, who was young and simple, could 
not help saying to himself, “ Surely he is not the 
dark man whom people call him. Yet why did 


90 


THE HEROES 


he drive my father out ? ” And he asked Pelias 
boldly : “ Men say that you are terrible, and a 
man of blood ; but I find you a kind and hospita- 
ble man ; and as you are to me, so will I be to you. 
Yet why did you drive my father out ? ” 

Pelias smiled, and sighed. 44 Men have slandered 
me in that, as in all things. Your father was 
growing old and weary, and he gave the kingdom 
up to me of his own will. You shall see him to- 
io morrow, and ask him; and he will tell you the same.” 

Jason’s heart leapt in him when he heard that 
he was to see his father ; and he believed all that 
Pelias said, forgetting that his father might not 
dare to tell the truth. 

“ One thing more there is,” said Pelias, 44 on 
which I need your advice; for, though you are 
young, I see in you a wisdom beyond your years. 
There is one neighbour of mine, whom I dread 
more than all men on earth. I am stronger than 
20 he now, and can command him ; but I know that 
if he stay among us, he will work my ruin in the 
end. Can you give me a plan, Jason, by which I 
can rid myself of that man ? ” 


THE ARGONAUTS 


91 


After a while Jason answered, half laughing, 
“Were I you, I would send him to fetch that same 
golden fleece ; for if he once set forth after it you 
would never be troubled with him more.” 

And at that a bitter smile came across Pelias' 
lips, and a flash of wicked joy into his eyes ; and 
Jason saw it, and started ; and over his mind came 
the warning of the old man, and his own one 
sandal, and the oracle, and he saw that he was 
taken in a trap. io 

But Pelias only answered gently, “ My son, he 
shall be sent forthwith.” 

“You mean me?” cried Jason, starting up, 

“ because I came here with one sandal? ” And he 
lifted his fist angrily, while Pelias stood up to him 
like a wolf at bay ; and whether of the two was the 
stronger and the fiercer it would be hard to tell. 

But after a moment Pelias spoke gently, “ Why 
then so rash, my son? You, and not I, have said 
what is said ; why blame me for what I have not 20 
done ? Had you bid me love the man of whom I 
spoke, and make him my son-in-law and heir, I 
would have obeyed you ; and what if I obey you 


92 


THE HEROES 


now, and send the man to win himself immortal 
fame? I have not harmed you, or him. One 
thing at least I know, that he will go, and that 
gladly ; for he has a hero’s heart within him, lov- 
ing glory, and scorning to break the word which 
he has given.” 

Jason saw that he was entrapped ; but his 
second promise to Cheiron came into his mind, 
and he thought, “ What if the Centaur were a 
io prophet in that also, and meant that I should win 
the fleece ! ” Then he cried aloud — 

“ You have well spoken, cunning uncle of mine ! 
I love glory, and I dare keep to my word. I will 
go and fetch this golden fleece. Promise me but 
this in return, and keep your word as I keep mine. 
Treat my father lovingly while I am gone, for the 
sake of the all-seeing Zeus; and give me up the 
kingdom for my own on the day that I bring back 
the golden fleece.” 

20 Then Pelias looked at him and almost loved him, 
in the midst of all his hate ; and said : “ I promise, 
and I will perform. It will be no shame to give 
up my kingdom to the man who wins that fleece.” 


THE ARGONAUTS 


93 


Then they swore a great oath between them ; and 
afterwards both went in, and lay down to sleep. 

But Jason could not sleep for thinking of his 
mighty oath, and how he was to fulfil it, all alone, 
and without wealth or friends. So he tossed a 
long time upon his bed, and thought of this plan 
and of that ; and sometimes Phrixus seemed to 
call him, in a thin voice, faint and low, as if it 
came from far across the sea, “ Let me come home 
to my fathers and have rest.” And sometimes he io 
seemed to see the eyes of Hera, and to hear her 
words again — “ Call on me in the hour of need, 
and see if the Immortals can forget.” 

And on the morrow he went to Pelias, and said, 

“ Give me a victim, that I may sacrifice to Hera.” 
So he went up, and offered his sacrifice ; and as 
he stood by the altar Hera sent a thought into his 
mind ; and he went back to Pelias and said — 

“If you are indeed in earnest, give me two 
heralds, that they may go round to all the princes 20 
of the Minuai, who were pupils of the Centaur 
with me, that we may fit out a ship together, and 
take what shall befall.” 


94 


THE HEROES 


At that Pelias praised his wisdom, and hastened 
to send the heralds out ; for he said in his heart, 
“ Let all the princes go with him, and, like him, 
never return ; for so I shall be lord of all the 
Minuai, and the greatest king in Hellas.” 


PART III 


HOW THEY BUILT THE SHIP “ ARGO ” IN IOLCOS 

So the heralds went out, and cried to all the 
heroes of the Minuai, “ Who dare come to the 
adventure of the golden fleece?” 

And Hera stirred the hearts of all the princes, 
and they came from all their valleys to the yellow 
sands of Pagasai. And first came Heracles the 
mighty, with his lion’s skin and club, and behind 
him Hylas his young squire, who bore his arrows 
and his bow; and Tiphys, the skilful steersman; 
and Butes, the fairest of all men; and Castor and io 
Polydeuces the twins, the sons of the magic swan ; 
and Cseneus, the strongest of mortals, whom the 
Centaurs tried in vain to kill, and overwhelmed 
him with trunks of pine trees, but even so he 
would not die ; and thither came Zetes and Calais, 

Hy'las. Bu'tes. Pol-y-deu'ees. 

Ti'phys. Cas'tor. Ze'tes. Cal'a-is. 

95 


96 


THE HEROES 


the winged sons of the north wind ; and Peleus, 
the father of Achilles, whose bride was silver- 
footed Thetis, the goddess of the sea. And 
thither came Telamon and Oileus, the fathers of 
the two Aiantes, who fought upon the plains of 
Troy; and Mopsus, the wise soothsayer, who knew 
the speech of birds ; and Idmon, to whom Phoebus 
gave a tongue to prophesy of things to come ; and 
Ancaios, who could read the stars, and knew all 

iothe circles of the heavens ; and Argus, the famed 
shipbuilder, and many a hero more, in helmets of 
brass and gold with tall dyed horse-hair crests, 
and embroidered shirts of linen beneath their coats 
of mail, and greaves of polished tin to guard their 
knees in fight ; with each man his shield upon his 
shoulder, of many a fold of tough bull’s hide, and 
his sword of tempered bronze in his silver-studded 
belt ; and in his right hand a pair of lances, of the 
heavy white ash-staves. 

20 So they came down to Iolcos, and all the city 

A-chil'les. Tel'a-mon. Mop'sus. Phce'bus (Phce'bus Apollo). 
Tlie'tis. O-i'leus. Id'mon. An-cai'os (an-ce'os). 

Ai-an'tes is the plural of iE'as, the Greek form of Ajax. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


97 


came out to meet them, and were never tired with 
looking at their height, and their beauty, and their 
gallant bearing, and the glitter of their inlaid arms. 
And some said, “ Never was such a gathering of 
the heroes since the Hellens conquered the land.” 
But the women sighed over them, and whispered, 

“ Alas ! they are all going to their death ! ” 

Then they felled the pines on Pelion, and shaped 
them with the axe, and Argus taught them to build 
a galley, the first long ship which ever sailed the 10 
seas. They pierced her for fifty oars — an oar for 
each hero of the crew — and pitched her with coal- 
black pitch, and painted her bows with vermilion; 
and they named her Argo after Argus, and worked 
at her all day long. And at night Pelias feasted 
them like a king, and they slept in his palace- 
porch. 

But Jason went away to the northward, and 
into the land of Thrace, till he found Orpheus, 
the prince of minstrels, where he dwelt in his cave 20 
under Rhodope, among the savage Cicon tribes. 
And he asked him, “ Will you leave your moun- 
Thra'ce. Or'pheus. Rhod'o-pe. Ci'con. 


98 


THE HEROES 


tains, Orpheus, my fellow-scholar in old times, 
and cross Strymon once more with me, to sail 
with the heroes of the Minuai, and bring home 
the golden fleece, and charm for us all men and 
all monsters with your magic harp and song? ” 
Then Orpheus sighed : “ Have I not had enough 
of toil and of weary wandering far and wide since 
I lived in Cheiron’s cave, above Iolcos by the sea? 
In vain is the skill and the voice which my 
xo goddess mother gave me; in vain have I sung 
and laboured ; in vain I went down to the dead, 
and charmed all the kings of Hades, to win back 
Eurydice my bride. For I won her, my beloved, 
and lost her again the same day, and wandered 
away in my madness, even to Egypt and the 
Libyan sands, and the isles of all the seas, driven 
on by the terrible gadfly, while I charmed in vain 
the hearts of men, and the savage forest beasts, 
and the trees, and the lifeless stones, with my 
20 magic harp and song, giving rest, but finding 
none. But at last Calliope my mother delivered 
me, and brought me home in peace ; and I dwell 
Stry'mon. Eu-ry d/i-ce. Cal-li'o-pe. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


99 


here in the cave alone, among the savage Cicon 
tribes, softening their wild hearts with music and 
the gentle laws of Zeus. And now I must go out 
again, to the ends of all the earth, far away into 
the misty darkness, to the last wave of the Eastern 
Sea. But what is doomed must be, and a friend’s 
demand obeyed ; for prayers are the daughters of 
Zeus, and who honours them honours him.” 

Then Orpheus rose up sighing, and took his 
harp, and went over Strymon. And he led Jason io 
to the southwest, up the banks of Haliacmon and 
over the spurs of Pindus, to Dodona the town of 
Zeus, where it stood by the side of the sacred lake, 
and the fountain which breathed out fire, in the 
darkness of the ancient oakwood, beneath the 
mountain of the hundred springs. And he led 
him to the holy oak, where the black dove settled 
in old times, and was changed into the priestess of 
Zeus, and gave oracles to all nations round. And 
he bade him cut down a bough, and sacrifice to Hera 20 
and to Zeus ; and they took the bough and came to 
Iolcos, and nailed it to the beak-head of the ship. 

Ha-li-ac'mon. ( f f Do-do'na. 


100 


THE HEROES 


And at last the ship was finished, and they tried 
to launch her down the beach; but she was too 
heavy for them to move her, and her keel sank 
deep into the sand. Then all the heroes looked at 
each other blushing; but Jason spoke, and said, 
44 Let us ask the magic bough ; perhaps it can help 
us in our need.” 

Then a voice came from the bough, and Jason 
heard the words it said, and bade Orpheus play 
io upon the harp, while the heroes waited round, 
holding the pine-trunk rollers, to help her toward 
the sea. 

Then Orpheus took his harp, and began his 
magic song — 44 How sweet it is to ride upon the 
surges, and to leap from wave to wave, while the 
wind sings cheerful in the cordage, and the oars 
flash fast among the foam ! How sweet it is to 
roam across the ocean, and see new towns and 
wondrous lands, and to come home laden with 
20 treasure, and to win undying fame ! ” 

And the good ship Argo heard him, and longed 
to be away and out at sea ; till she stirred in every 
timber, and heaved from stem to stern, and leapt 


THE ARGONAUTS 


101 


up from the sand upon the rollers, and plunged 
onward like a gallant horse ; and the heroes fed 
her path with pine-trunks, till she rushed into the 
whispering sea. 

Then they stored her well with food and water, 
and pulled the ladder* up on board, and settled 
themselves each man to. his oar, and kept time to 
Orpheus’ harp ; and away across the bay they 
rowed southward, while the people lined the 
cliffs ; and the women wept, while the men io 
shouted, at the starting of that gallant crew. 


PART IV 


HOW THE ARGONAUTS SAILED TO COLCHIS 

And what happened next, my children, whether 
it be true or not, stands written in ancient songs, 
which you shall read for yourselves some day. 
And grand old songs they are, written in grand 
old rolling verse ; and they call them the Songs 
of Orpheus, or the Orphics, to this day. And 
they tell how the heroes came to Aphetai, across 
the bay, and waited for the southwest wind, and 
chose themselves a captain from their crew : and 
io how all called for Heracles, because he was the 
strongest and most huge ; but Heracles refused, 
and called for Jason, because he was the wisest of 
them all. So Jason was chosen captain ; and 
Orpheus heaped a pile of wood, and slew a bull, 
and offered it to Hera, and called all the heroes to 

Apli'e-tai. 

102 


THE ARGONAUTS 


103 


stand round, each man’s head crowned with olive, 
and to strike their swords into the bull. Then 
he filled a golden goblet with the bull’s blood, and 
with wheaten flour, and honey, and wine, and the 
bitter salt-sea water, and bade the heroes taste. 
So each tasted the goblet, and passed it round, 
and vowed an awful vow : and they vowed before 
the sun, and the night, and the blue-haired sea 
who shakes the land, to stand by Jason faithfully 
in the adventure of the golden fleece ; and who- io 
soever shrank back, or disobeyed, or turned traitor 
to his vow, then justice should minister against 
him, and the Erinnyes who track guilty men. 

Then Jason lighted the pile, and burnt the 
carcase of the bull ; and they went to their ship 
and sailed eastward, like men who have a work to 
do ; and the place from which they went was called 
Aphetai, the sailing-place, from that day forth. 
Three thousand years and more they sailed away, 
into the unknown Eastern seas ; and great nations 20 
have come and gone since then, and many a 

E-rin'ny-es — the Furies. They punished with pangs of 
remorse the crimes of all who escaped justice. 


104 


THE HEROES 


storm has swept the earth ; and many a mighty 
armament, to which Argo would be but one small 
boat; English and French, Turkish and Russian, 
have sailed those waters since ; yet the fame of 
that small Argo lives for ever, and her name is 
become a proverb among men. 

So they sailed past the Isle of Sciathos, with the 
Cape of Sepius on their left, and turned to the 
northward toward Pelion, up the long Magnesian 
io shore. On their right hand was the open sea, 
and on their left old Pelion rose, while the clouds 
crawled round his dark pine-forests, and his caps 
of summer snow. And their hearts yearned for 
the dear old mountain, as they thought of pleasant 
days gone by, and of the sports of their boyhood, 
and their hunting, and their schooling in the cave 
beneath the cliff. And at last Peleus spoke : “ Let 
us land here, friends, and climb the dear old hill 
once more. We are going on a fearful journey ; 
20 who knows if we shall see Pelion again ? Let us 
go up to Cheiron our master, and ask his blessing 
ere we start. And I have a boy, too, with him, 
Sci'a-thos. Se'pi-us. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


105 


whom he trains as he trained me once — the son 
whom Thetis brought me, the silver-footed lady 
of the sea, whom I caught in the cave, and tamed 
her, though she changed her shape seven times. 
For she changed, as I held her, into water, and to 
vapour, and to burning flame, and to a rock, and 
to a black-maned lion, and to a tall and stately 
tree. But I held her and held her ever, till she 
took her own shape again, and led her to my 
father’s house, and won her for my bride. Andio 
all the rulers of Olympus came to our wedding, 
and the heavens and the earth rejoiced together, 
when an Immortal wedded mortal man. And 
now let me see my son ; for it is not often I shall 
see him upon earth : famous he will be, but short- 
lived, and die in the flower of youth.” 

So Tiphys the helmsman steered them to the 
shore under the crags of Pelion ; and they went 
up through the dark pine-forests toward the 
Centaur’s cave. 20 

And they came into the misty hall, beneath the 
snow-crowned crag ; and saw the great Centaur 
lying, with his huge limbs spread upon the rock ; 


106 


THE HEROES 


and beside him stood Achilles, the child whom no 
steel could wound, and played upon his harp right 
sweetly, while Cheiron watched and smiled. 

Then Cheiron leapt up and welcomed them, 
and kissed them every one, and set a feast before 
them of swine’s flesh, and venison, and good wine ; 
and young Achilles served them, and carried the 
golden goblet round. And after supper all the 
heroes clapped their hands, and called on Orpheus 
io to sing ; but he refused, and said, “ How can I, 
who am the younger, sing before our ancient 
host ? ” So they called on Cheiron to sing, and 
Achilles brought him his harp ; and he began a 
wondrous song ; a famous story of old time, of the 
fight between the Centaurs and the Lapithai, 
which you may still see carved in stone . 1 He 
sang how his brothers came to ruin by their folly, 
when they were mad with wine ; and how they 
and the heroes fought, with fists, and teeth, and 
20 the goblets from which they drank ; and how they 
tore up the pine trees in their fury, and hurled 
great crags of stone, while the mountains thun- 
1 In the Elgin Marbles. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


107 


dered with the battle, and the land was wasted 
far and wide ; till the Lapithai drove them from 
their home in the rich Thessalian plains to the 
lonely glens of Pindus, leaving Cheiron all alone. 
And the heroes praised his song right heartily; 
for some of them had helped in that great fight. 

Then Orpheus took the lyre, and sang of Chaos, 
and the making of the wondrous World, and how 
all things sprang from Love, who could not live 
alone in the Abyss. And as he sang, his voice io 
rose from the cave, above the crags, and through 
the tree-tops, and the glens of oak and pine. 
And the trees bowed their heads when they heard 
it, and the grey rocks cracked and rang, and the 
forest beasts crept near to listen, and the birds 
forsook their nests and hovered round. And old 
Cheiron clapt his hands together, and beat his 
hoofs upon the ground, for wonder at that magic 
song. 

Then Peleus kissed his boy, and wept over him, 20 
and they went down to the ship ; and Cheiron 
came down with them, weeping, and kissed them 
one by one, and blest them, and promised to 


108 


THE HEROES 


them great renown. And the heroes wept when 
they left him, till their great hearts could weep no 
more ; for he was kind and just and pious, and 
wiser than all beasts and men. Then he went up 
to a cliff, and prayed for them, that they might 
come home safe and well ; while the heroes rowed 
away, and watched him standing on his cliff above 
the sea, with his great hands raised toward heaven, 
and his white locks waving in the wind ; and they 
10 strained their eyes to watch him to the last, for 
they felt that they should look on him no more. 

So they rowed on over the long swell of the 
sea, past Olympus, the seat of the Immortals, and 
past the wooded bays of Athos, and Samothrace 
the sacred isle ; and they came past Lemnos to 
the Hellespont, and through the narrow strait of 
Abydos, and so on into the Propontis, which we 
call Marmora now. And there they met with 
Cyzicus, ruling in Asia over the Dolions, who, the 
20 songs say, was the son of JEneas, of whom you 
will hear many a tale some day. For Homer tells 
us how he fought at Troy, and Virgil how he 
A'thos. Sam-o-thra'ce. A-by'dos. Cyz'i-cus. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


109 


sailed away and founded Rome ; and men believed 
until late years that from him sprang our old 
British kings. Now Cyzicus, the songs say, 
welcomed the heroes, for his father had been one 
of Cheiron’s scholars ; so he welcomed them, and 
feasted them, and stored their ship with corn 
and wine, and cloaks and rugs, the songs say, 
and shirts, of which no doubt they stood in need. 

But at night, while they lay sleeping, came 
down on them terrible men, who lived with the io 
bears in the mountains, like Titans or giants in 
shape ; for each of them had six arms, and they 
fought with young firs and pines. But Heracles 
killed them all before morn with his deadly poi- 
soned arrow's; but among them, in the darkness, 
he slew Cyzicus the kindly prince. 

Then they got to their ship and to their oars, 
and Tiphys bade them cast off the hawsers and 
go to sea. But as he spoke a whirlwind came, 
and spun the Argo round, and twisted the hawsers 20 
together, so that no man could loose them. Then 
Tiphys dropped the rudder from his hand, and 
cried, “ This comes from the Gods above.” But 


110 


THE HEROES 


Jason went forward, and asked counsel of the 
magic bough. 

Then the magic bough spoke, and answered : 
“This is because you have slain Cyzicus your 
friend. You must appease his soul, or you will 
never leave this shore.”, 

Jason went back sadly, and told the heroes 
what he had heard. And they leapt on shore, and 
searched till dawn ; and at dawn they found the 
io body, all rolled in dust and blood, among the 
corpses of those monstrous beasts. And they 
wept over their kind host, and laid him on a fair 
bed, and heaped a huge mound over him, and 
offered black sheep at his tomb, and Orpheus 
sang a magic song to him, that his spirit might 
have rest. And then they held games at the 
tomb, after the custom of those times, and Jason 
gave prizes to each winner. To Ancaios he gave 
a golden cup, for he wrestled best of all ; and to 
20 Heracles a silver one, for he was the strongest of 
all ; and to Castor, who rode best, a golden crest ; 
and Polydeuces the boxer had a rich carpet, and 
to Orpheus for his song a sandal with golden 


THE ARGONAUTS 


111 


wings. But Jason himself was the best of all the 
archers, and the Minuai crowned him with an 
olive crown ; and so, the songs say, the soul of 
good Cyzicus was appeased and the heroes went 
on their way in peace. 

But when Cyzicus’ wife heard that he was dead 
she died likewise of grief ; and her tears became 
a fountain of clear water, which flows the whole 
year round. 

Then they rowed away, the songs say, along the io 
Mysian shore, and past the mouth of Rhyndacus, 
till they found a pleasant bay, sheltered by the 
long ridges of Arganthus, and by high walls of 
basalt rock. And there they ran the ship ashore 
upon the yellow sand, and furled the sail, and 
took the mast down, and lashed it in its crutch. 
And next they let down the ladder, and went 
ashore to sport and rest. 

And there Heracles went away into the woods, 
bow in hand, to hunt wild deer ; and Hylas the 20 
fair boy slipt away after him, and followed him 

Mys'i-an (mizh'i-an). Ar-gan'thus. 

Rliyn'da-cus. 


112 


THE HEROES 


by stealth, until he lost himself among the glens, 
and sat down weary to rest himself by the side of 
a lake ; and there the water-nymphs came up to 
, look at him, and loved him, and carried him down 
under the lake to be their playfellow, for ever 
happy and young. And Heracles sought for him 
in vain, shouting his name till all the mountains 
rang ; but Hylas never heard him, far down under 
the sparkling lake. So while Heracles wandered 
io searching for him, a fair breeze sprang up, and 
Heracles was nowhere to be found ; and the Argo 
sailed away, and Heracles was left behind, and 
never saw the noble Phasian stream. 

Then the Minuai came to a doleful land, where 
Amycus the giant ruled, and cared nothing for the 
laws of Zeus, but challenged all strangers to box 
with him, and those whom he conquered he slew. 
But Poly deuces the boxer struck him a harder 
blow than he ever felt before, and slew him ; and 
20 the Minuai went on up the Bosphorus, till they 
came to the city of Phineus, the fierce Bithynian 


Pha'si-an (fa'zhi-an). A river in Colchis. 
Am'y-cus. Bi-thyn'i-an. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


113 


king ; for Zetes and Calais bade Jason land there, 
because they had a work to do. 

And they went up from the shore toward the 
city, through forests white with snow ; and Phineus 
came out to meet them with a lean and woful face, 
and said, “ Welcome, gallant heroes, to the land 
of bitter blasts, the land of cold and misery ; yet 
I will feast you as best I can.” And he led them 
in, and set meat before them ; but before they 
could put their hands to their mouths, down 10 
came two fearful monsters, the like of whom man 
never saw ; for they had the faces and the hair of 
fair maidens, but the wings and claws of hawks ; 
and they snatched the meat from oft’ the table, 
and flew shrieking out above the roofs. 

Then Phineus beat his breast and cried : “ These 
are the Harpies, whose names are the Whirlwind 
and the Swift, the daughters of Wonder and of the 
Amber-nymph, and they rob us night and day. 
They carried off the daughters of Pandareus, 20 
whom all the Gods had blest ; for Aphrodite fed 
them on Olympus with honey and milk and wine ; 

Pan-da 're-us. Aph-ro-di'te. 


114 


THE HEROES 


and Hera gave them beauty and wisdom, and 
Athene skill in all the arts ; but when they came 
to their wedding, the Harpies snatched them both 
away, and gave them to be slaves to the Erinnyes, 
and live in horror all their days. And now they 
haunt me, and my people, and the Bosphorus, 
with fearful storms; and sweep away our food 
from off our tables, so that we starve in spite of 
all our wealth.” 

io Then up rose Zetes and Calais, the winged sons 
of the North- wind, and said, “Do you not know 
us, Phineus, and these wings which grow upon 
our backs ? ” And Phineus hid his face in terror ; 
but he answered not a word. 

“ Because you have been a traitor, Phineus, the 
Harpies haunt you night and day. Where is 
Cleopatra our sister, your wife, whom you keep 
in prison ? and where are her two children, whom 
you blinded in your rage, at the bidding of an 
20 evil woman, and cast them out upon the rocks? 
Swear to us that you will right our sister, and 
cast out that wicked woman ; and then we will 
Cle-o-pa'tra. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


115 


free you from your plague, and drive the whirl- 
wind maidens to the south ; but if not, we will 
put out your eyes, as you put out the eyes of your 
own sons.” 

Then Phineus swore an oath to them, and drove 
out the wicked woman ; and Jason took those 
two poor children, and cured their eyes with 
magic herbs. 

But Zetes and Calais rose up sadly and said, 
“Farewell now, heroes all; farewell, our dear io 
companions, with whom we played on Pelion in 
old times ; for a fate is laid upon us, and our day 
is come at last, in which we must hunt the whirl- 
winds over land and sea for ever ; and if we catch 
them they die, and if not, we die ourselves.” 

At that all the heroes wept ; but the two young 
men sprang up, and aloft into the air after the 
Harpies, and the battle of the winds began. 

The heroes trembled in silence as they heard 
the shrieking of the blasts ; while the palace 20 
rocked and all the city, and great stones were 
torn from the crags, and the forest pines were 
hurled earthward, north and south and east and 


116 


THE HEROES 


west, and the Bosphorus boiled white with foam, 
and the clouds were dashed against the cliffs. 

But at last the battle ended, and the Harpies 
fled screaming toward the south, and the sons of 
the North- wind rushed after them, and brought 
clear sunshine where they passed. For many a 
league they followed them, over all the isles of 
the Cyclades, and away to the southwest across 
Hellas, till they came to the Ionian Sea, and 
io there they fell upon the Echinades, at the mouth 
of the Achelous ; and those isles were called the 
Whirlwind Isles for many a hundred years. But 
what became of Zetes and Calais I know not, for 
the heroes never saw them again : and some say 
that Heracles met them, and quarrelled with them, 
and slew them with his arrows ; and some say 
that they fell down from weariness and the heat 
of the summer sun, and that the Sun-god buried 
them among the Cyclades, in the pleasant Isle of 
2oTenos; and for many hundred years their grave 
was shown there, and over it a pillar, which 


E-chin'a-des. 

Ach-e-lo'us. 


Cyc'la-des. 

Te'nos. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


117 


turned to every wind. But those dark storms 
and whirlwinds haunt the Bosphorus until this 
day. 

But the Argonauts went eastward, and out into 
the open sea, which we now call the Black Sea, 
but it was called the Euxine then. No Hellen 
had ever crossed it, and all feared that dreadful 
sea, and its rocks, and shoals, and fogs, and bitter 
freezing storms ; and they told strange stories of 
it, some false and some half-true, how it stretched io 
northward to the ends of the earth, and the slug- 
gish Putrid Sea, and the everlasting night, and 
the regions of the dead. So the heroes trembled, 
for all their courage, as they came into that wild 
Black Sea, and saw it stretching out before them, 
without a shore, as far as eye could see. 

And first Qrpheus spoke, and warned them, 

“ We shall come now to the wandering blue rocks ; 
my mother warned me of them, Calliope, the im- 
mortal muse.” 20 

And soon they saw the blue rocks shining like 
spires and castles of grey glass, while an ice-cold 
wind blew from them and chilled all the heroes’ 


118 


THE HEROES 


hearts. And as they neared they could see them 
heaving, as they rolled upon the long sea- waves, 
crashing and grinding together, till the roar went 
up to heaven. The sea sprang up in spouts be- 
tween them, and swept round them in white 
sheets of foam ; but their heads swung nodding 
high in air, while the wind whistled shrill among 
the crags. 

The heroes’ hearts sank within them, and they 
io lay upon their oars in fear ; but Orpheus called 
to Tiphys the helmsman, “ Between them we must 
pass ; so look ahead for an opening, and be brave, 
for Hera is with us.” But Tiphys the cunning 
helmsman stood silent, clenching his teeth, till he 
saw a heron come flying mast-high toward the 
rocks, and hover awhile before them, as if looking 
for a passage through. Then he cjried, “ Hera has 
sent us a pilot ; let us follow the cunning bird.” 

Then the heron flapped to and fro a moment, 
20 till he saw a hidden gap, and into it he rushed 
like an arrow, while the heroes watched what 
would befall. 

And the blue rocks clashed together as the 


THE ARGONAUTS 


119 


bird fled swiftly through ; but they struck but a 
feather froiu his tail, and then rebounded apart 
at the shock. 

Then Tiphys cheered the heroes, and they 
shouted ; and the oars bent like withes beneath 
their strokes as they rushed between those top- 
pling ice-crags and the cold blue lips of death. 
And ere the rocks could meet again they had 
passed them, and were safe out in the open sea. 

And after that they sailed on wearily along the io 
Asian coast, by the Black Cape and Thyneis, 
where the hot stream of Thymbris falls into the 
sea, and Sangarius, whose waters float on the 
Euxine, till they came to Wolf the river, and to 
Wolf the kindly king. And there died two 
brave heroes, Idmorn and Tiphys the wise helms- 
man : one died of an evil sickness, and one a wild 
boar slew. So the heroes heaped a mound above 
them, and set upon it an oar on high, and left 
them there to sleep together, on the far-off Lycian 20 
shore. But Idas killed the boar, and avenged 
Tiphys ; and Ancaios took the rudder and was 
helmsman, and steered them on toward the east. 


120 


THE HEROES 


And they went on past Sinope, and many a 
mighty river’s mouth, and past many a barbarous 
tribe, and the cities of the Amazons, the warlike 
women of the East, till all night they heard the 
clank of anvils and the roar of furnace-blasts, and 
the forge-fires shone like sparks through the dark- 
ness in the mountain glens aloft ; for they were 
come to the shores of the Chalybes, the smiths 
who never tire, but serve Ares the cruel War- 
io god, forging weapons day and night. 

And at day- dawn they looked eastward, and 
midway between the sea and the sky they saw 
white snow-peaks hanging, glittering sharp and 
bright above the clouds. And they knew that 
they were come to Caucasus, at the end of all the 
earth : Caucasus the highest of all mountains, 
the father of the rivers of the East. On his 
peak lies chained the Titan , 1 while a vulture tears 
his heart ; and at his feet are piled dark forests 
20 round the magic Colchian land. 

And they rowed three days to the eastward, 

Si-no'pe. Chal'y-bes. A'res. 

1 The Titan Prometheus. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


121 


while Caucasus rose higher hour by hour, till they 
saw the dark stream of Phasis rushing headlong 
to the sea, and, shining above the tree-tops, the 
golden roofs of King Aietes, the child of the Sun. 

Then out spoke Ancaios the helmsman: “We 
are come to our goal at last, for there are the 
roofs of Aietes, and the woods where all poisons 
grow ; but who can tell us where among them 
is hid the golden fleece ? Many a toil must we 
bear ere we find it, and bring it home to Greece.” 10 
But Jason cheered the heroes, for his heart 
was high and bold ; and he said : “ I will go alone 
up to Aietes, though he be the child of the Sun, 
and win him with soft words. Better so than to 
go all together, and to come to blows at once.” 
But the Minuai would not stay behind, so they 
rowed boldly up the stream. 

And a dream came to Aietes, and filled his 
heart with fear. He thought he saw a shining 
star, which fell into his daughter’s lap ; and that 20 
Medeia his daughter took it gladly, and carried 
it to the river-side, and cast it in, and there the 
Pha'sis. Ai-e'tes (6-e'tes). Me-dei'a (me-de'a). 


122 


THE HEROES 


whirling river bore it down, and out into the 
Euxine Sea-. 

Then he leapt up in fear, and bade his servants 
bring his chariot, that he might go down to the 
river-side and appease the nymphs, and the heroes 
wdiose spirits haunt the bank. So he went down 
in his golden chariot, and his daughters by his 
side, Medeia the fair witch-maiden, and Chal- 
ciope, who had been Phrixus’ wife, and behind 
io him a crowd of servants and soldiers, for he was 
a rich and mighty prince. 

And as he drove down by the reedy river he 
saw Argo sliding up beneath the bank, and many 
a hero in her, like Immortals for beauty and for 
strength, as their weapons glittered round them 
in the level morning sunlight, through the white 
mist of the stream. But Jason was the noblest 
of all ; for Hera, who loved him, gave him beauty 
and tallness and terrible manhood. 

20 And when they came near together and looked 
into each other’s eyes the heroes were awed 
before Aietes as he shone in his chariot, like his 
father the glorious Sun ; for his robes were of 


THE ARGONAUTS 


123 


rich gold tissue, and the rays of his diadem 
flashed fire ; and in his hand he bore a jewelled 
sceptre, which glittered like the stars ; and sternly 
he looked at them under his brows, and sternly 
he spoke and loud — 

“ Who are you, and what want you here, that 
you come to the shore of Cutaia ? Do you take 
no account of my rule, nor of my people the Col- 
chians who serve me, who never tired yet in the 
battle, and know well how to face an invader ? ” io 

And the heroes sat silent awhile before the 
face of that ancient king. But Hera the awful 
goddess put courage into Jason’s heart, and he 
rose and shouted loudly in answer: “We are no 
pirates nor lawless men. We come not to plun- 
der and to ravage, or carry away slaves from your 
land; but my uncle, the son of Poseidon, Pelias 
the Minuan king, he it is who has set me on a 
quest to bring home the golden fleece. And these 
too, my bold comrades, they are no nameless men; 20 
for some are the sons of Immortals, and some 
of heroes far renowned. And we too never tire in 


Cu-tai'a. 


124 


THE HEROES 


battle, and know well how to give blows and to 
take : yet we wish to be guests at your table : 
it will be better so for both.” 

Then Aietes’ rage rushed up like a whirlwind, 
and his eyes flashed fire as he heard ; but he 
crushed his anger down in his breast, and spoke 
mildly a cunning speech — 

“ If you will fight for the fleece with my Col- 
chians, then many a man must die. But do you 
io indeed expect to win from me the fleece in fight ? 

“ So few are you that if you be worsted I can 
load your ship with your corpses. But if you will 
be ruled by me, you will find it better far to choose 
the best man among you, and let him fulfil the 
labours which I demand. Then I will give him 
the golden fleece for a prize and a glory to you 
all.” 

So saying, he turned his horses and drove back 
in silence to the town. And the Minuai sat silent 
20 with sorrow, and longed for Heracles and his 
strength ; for there was no facing the thousands 
of the Colchians and the fearful chance of war. 

But Chalciope, Phrixus’ widow, went weeping 


THE ARGONAUTS 


125 


to the town ; for she remembered her Minuan 
husband, and all the pleasures of her youth, 
while she watched the fair faces of his kinsmen, 
and their long locks of golden hair. And she 
whispered to Medeia her sister, “ Why should all 
these brave men die ? why does not my father 
give them up the fleece, that my husband’s spirit 
may have rest ? ” 

And Medeia’s heart pitied the heroes, and 
Jason most of all ; and she answered, “ Our father to 
is stern and terrible, and who can win the golden 
fleece ? ” But Chalciope said, “ These men are not 
like our men ; there is nothing which they cannot 
dare nor do.” 

And Medeia thought of Jason and his brave 
countenance, and said, “ If there was one among 
them who knew no fear, I could show him how to 
win the fleece.” 

So in the dusk of evening they went down to 
the river-side, Chalciope and Medeia the witch- 20 
maiden, and Argus, Phrixus’ son. And Argus 
the boy crept forward, among the beds of reeds, 
till he came where the heroes were sleeping, on 


126 


THE HEROES 


the thwarts of the ship, beneath the bank, while 
Jason kept ward on shore, and leant upon his lance 
full of thought. And the boy came to Jason, and 
said — 

“ I am the son of Phrixus, your cousin ; and 
Chalciope my mother waits for you, to talk about 
the golden fleece.” ' 

Then Jason went boldly with the boy, and found 
the two princesses standing ; and when Chalciope 
io saw him she wept, and took his hands and cried — 

“ O cousin of my beloved, go home before you 
die ! ” 

“ It would be base to go home now, fair princess, 
and to have sailed all these seas in vain.” Then 
both the princesses besought him ; but Jason said, 
“ It is too late.” 

“ But you know not,” said Medeia, “ what he must 
do who would win the fleece. He must tame the two 
brazen-footed bulls, who breathe devouring flame; 
20 and with them he must plough ere nightfall four 
acres in the field of Ares ; and he must sow them 
with serpents’ teeth, of which each tooth springs up 
into an armed man. Then he must fight with 


THE ARGONAUTS 


127 


all those warriors ; and little will it profit him 
to conquer them, for the fleece is guarded by a 
serpent, more huge than any mountain pine ; and 
over his body you must step if you would reach 
the golden fleece.” 

Then Jason laughed bitterly. “ Unjustly is that 
fleece kept here, and by an unjust and lawless 
king; and unjustly shall I die in my youth, for 
I will attempt it ere another sun be set.” 

Then Medeia trembled, and said, “No mortal io 
man can reach that fleece unless I guide him 
through. For round it, beyond the river, is a 
wall full nine ells high, with lofty towers and 
buttresses, and mighty gates of threefold brass ; 
and over the gates the wall is arched, with 
golden battlements above. And over the gateway 
sits Brimo, the wild witch-huntress of the woods, 
brandishing a pine torch in her hands, while her 
mad hounds howl around. No man dare meet 
her or look on her, but only I her priestess, and 20 
she watches far and wide lest any stranger should 
come near.” 

“No wall so high but it may be climbed at last, 


128 


THE HEROES 


and no wood so thick but it may be crawled 
through ; no serpent so wary but he may be 
charmed, or witch-queen so fierce but spells may 
soothe her ; and I may yet win the golden fleece, 
if a wise maiden help bold men.” 

And he looked at Medeia cunningly, and held 
her with his glittering eye, till she blushed and 
trembled, and said — 

“ Who can face the fire of the bull’s breath, and 
io fight ten thousand armed men ? ” 

“ He whom you help,” said Jason, flattering her, 
“ for your fame is spread over all the earth. Are 
you not the queen of all enchantresses, wiser even 
than your sister Circe, in her fairy island in the 
West ? ” 

“ W ould that I were with my sister Circe in her 
fairy island in the West, far away from sore temp- 
tation and thoughts which tear the heart ! But if 
it must be so — for why should you die ? — I have 
20 an ointment here ; I made it from the magic ice- 
flower which sprang from Prometheus’ wound, 
above the clouds on Caucasus, in the dreary fields 
Cir'ce. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


129 


of snow. Anoint yourself with that, and you 
shall have in you seven men’s strength ; and 
anoint your shield with it, and neither fire nor 
sword can harm you. But what you begin you 
must end before sunset, for its virtue lasts only 
one day. And anoint your helmet with it before 
you sow the serpents’ teeth ; and when the sons of 
earth spring up, cast your helmet among their 
ranks, and the deadly crop of the War-god’s field 
will mow itself, and perish.” io 

Then Jason fell on his knees before her, and 
thanked her and kissed her hands ; and she gave 
him the vase of ointment, and fled trembling 
through the reeds. And Jason told his com- 
rades what had happened, and showed them the 
box of ointment; and all rejoiced but Idas, and 
he grew mad with envy. 

And at sunrise Jason went and bathed, and 
anointed himself from head to foot, and his shield, 
and his helmet, and his weapons, and bade his 20 
comrades try the spell. So they tried to bend his 
lance, but it stood like an iron bar; and Idas in 
spite hewed at it with his sword, but the blade 


130 


THE HEROES 


flew to splinters in his face. Then they hurled 
their lances at his shield, but the spear-points 
turned like lead ; and Cseneus tried to throw 
him, but he never stirred a foot ; and Polydeuces 
struck him with his fist a blow which would have 
killed an ox, but Jason only smiled, and the heroes 
danced about him with delight ; and he leapt, and 
ran, and shouted in the joy of that enormous 
strength, till the sun rose, and it was time to 
iogo and to claim Aietes’ promise. 

So he sent up Telamon and Aithalides to tell 
Aietes that he was ready for the fight ; and they 
went up among the marble walls, and beneath the 
roofs of gold, and stood in Aietes’ hall, while he 
grew pale with rage. 

“Fulfil your promise to us, child of the blazing 
Sun. Give us the serpents’ teeth, and let loose 
the fiery bulls ; for we have found a champion 
among us who can win the golden fleece.” 

20 And Aietes bit his lips, for he f an cied that they had 
fled away by night : but he could not go back from 
his promise ; so he gave them the serpents’ teeth. 

Ai-thal'i-des. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


131 


Then he called for his chariot and his horses, 
and sent heralds through all the town; and all 
the people went out with him to the dreadful 
War-god’s field. 

And there Aietes sat upon his throne, with his 
warriors on each hand, thousands and tens of thou- 
sands, clothed from head to foot in steel chain-mail. 
And the people and the women crowded to every 
window and bank and wall; while the Minuai 
stood together, a mere handful in the midst of 10 
that great host. 

And Chalciope was there and Argus, trem- 
bling, and Medeia, wrapped closely in her veil; 
but Aietes did not know that she was muttering 
cunning spells between her lips. 

Then Jason cried, “Fulfil your promise, and let 
your fiery bulls come forth.” 

Then Aietes bade open the gates, and the magic 
bulls leapt out. Their brazen hoofs rang upon the 
ground, and their nostrils sent out sheets of flame, 20 
as they rushed with lowered heads upon Jason; 
but he never flinched a step. The flame of their 
breath swept round him, but it singed not a hair 


132 


THE HEROES 


of his head ; and the bulls stopped short and 
trembled when Medeia began her spell. 

Then Jason sprang upon the nearest and seized 
him by the horn ; and up and down they wrestled, 
till the bull fell grovelling on his knees ; for the 
heart of the brute died within him, and his mighty 
limbs were loosed, beneath the steadfast eye of that 
dark witch-maiden and the magic whisper of her 
lips. 

io So both the bulls were tamed and yoked ; and 
Jason bound them to the plough, and goaded them 
onward with his lance till lie had ploughed the 
sacred field. 

And all the Minuai shouted ; but Aietes bit his 
lips with rage, for the half of Jason’s work was 
over, and the sun was yet high in heaven. 

Then he took the serpents’ teeth and sowed 
them, and waited what would befall. But Medeia 
looked at him and at his helmet, lest he should 
20 forget the lesson she had taught. 

And every furrow heaved and bubbled, and out 
of every clod arose a man. Out of the earth they 
rose by thousands, each clad from head to foot in 


THE ARGONAUTS 


133 


steel, and drew their swords and rushed on Jason, 
where he stood in the midst alone. 

Then the Minuai grew pale with fear for him ; 
but Aietes laughed a bitter laugh. “ See! if I had 
not warriors enough already round me, I could call 
them out of the bosom of the earth.” 

But Jason snatched off his helmet, and hurled it 
into the thickest of the throng. And blind mad- 
ness came upon them, suspicion, hate, and fear ; 
and one cried to his fellow, “ Thou didst strike io 
me !” and another, “Thou art Jason ; thou shalt 
die ! ” So fury seized those earth-born phantoms, 
and each turned his hand against the rest; and 
they fought and were never weary, till they all lay 
dead upon the ground. Then the magic furrows 
opened, and the kind earth took them home into 
her breast ; and the grass grew up all green again 
above them, and Jason’s work was done. 

Then the Minuai rose and shouted, till Prome- 
theus heard them from his crag. And Jason cried, 20 
“ Lead me to the fleece this moment, before the 
sun goes down.” 

But Aietes thought, “ He has conquered the bulls 


134 


THE HEROES 


and sown and reaped the deadly crop. Who is this 
who is proof against all magic ? He may kill the 
serpent yet. ” So he delayed, and sat taking counsel 
with his princes till the sun went down and all was 
dark. Then he bade a herald cry, “ Every man to 
his home for to-night. To-morrow we will meet 
these heroes, and speak about the golden fleece.” 

Then he turned and looked at Medeia. “ This 
is your doing, false witch-maid ! You have helped 
io these yellow-haired strangers, and brought shame 
upon your father and yourself ! ” 

Medeia shrank and trembled, and her face grew 
pale with fear ; and Aietes knew that she was 
guilty, and whispered, “ If they win the fleece, you 
die ! ” 

But the Minuai marched toward their ship, 
growling like lions cheated of their prey ; for they 
saw that Aietes meant to mock them, and to cheat 
them out of all their toil. And Oileus said, “ Let 
20 us go to the grove together, and take the fleece 
by force.” 

And Idas the rash cried, “ Let us draw lots who 
shall go in first ; for, while the dragon is devouring 


THE ARGONAUTS 


135 


one, the rest can slay him and carry off the fleece 
in peace.” But Jason held them back, though he 
praised them ; for he hoped for Medeia’s help. 

And after a while Medeia came trembling, and 
wept a long while before she spoke. And at last — 

“ My end is come, and I must die ; for my father 
has found out that I have helped you. You he 
would kill if he dared ; but he will not harm you, 
because you have been his guests. Go, then, go, 
and remember poor Medeia when you are far io 
away across the sea.” But all the heroes cried — 

“ If you die, we die with you ; for without you 
we cannot win the fleece, and home we will not go 
without it, but fall here fighting to the last man.” 

“You need not die,” said Jason. “Flee home 
with us across the sea. Show us first how to win 
the fleece ; for you can do it. Why else are you 
the priestess of the grove? Show us but how to 
win the fleece, and come with us, and you shall be 
my queen, and rule over the rich princes of the 20 
Minuai, in Iolcos by the sea.” 

And all the heroes pressed round, and vowed 
to her that she should be their queen. 


136 


THE HEROES 


Medeia wept, and shuddered, and hid her face 
in her hands ; for her heart yearned after her 
sisters and her playfellows, and the home where 
she was brought up as a child. But at last 
she looked up at Jason, and spoke between her 
sobs — 

“ Must I leave my home and my people, to 
wander with strangers across the sea ? The lot is 
cast, and I must endure it. I will show you how 
io to win the golden fleece. Bring up your ship to 
the wood-side, and moor her there against the 
bank ; and let Jason come up at midnight, and 
one brave comrade with him, and meet me beneath 
the wall.” 

Then all the heroes cried together, “ I will go ! ” 
“ and I ! ” “ and I ! ” And Idas the rash grew 
mad with envy ; for he longed to be foremost in 
all things. But Medeia calmed them, and said, 
“Orpheus shall go with Jason, and bring his magic 
20 harp ; for I hear of him that he is the king of all 
minstrels, and can charm all things on earth.” 

And Orpheus laughed for joy, and clapped his 
hands, because the choice had fallen on him ; for 


THE ARGONAUTS 


137 


in those days poets and singers were as bold 
warriors as the best. 

So at midnight they went up the bank, and 
found Medeia ; and beside came Absyrtus her 
young brother, leading a yearling lamb. 

Then Medeia brought them to a thicket beside 
the War-god’s gate ; and there she bade Jason dig 
a ditch, and kill the lamb, and leave it there, and 
strew on it magic herbs and honey from the 
honeycomb. io 

Then sprang up through the earth, with the 
red fire flashing before her, Brimo the wild witch- 
huntress, while her mad hounds howled around. 
She had one head like a horse’s, and another like 
a ravening hound’s, and another like a hissing 
snake’s, and a sword in either hand. And she 
leapt into the ditch with her hounds, and they ate 
and drank their fill, while Jason and Orpheus 
trembled, and Medeia hid her eyes. And at last 
the witch-queen vanished, and fled witli her hounds 20 
into the woods ; and the bars of the gates fell 
down, and the brazen doors flew wide, and Medeia 
Ab-syr'tus. Bri'mo. 


138 


THE HEROES 


and the heroes ran forward and hurried through 
the poison wood, among the dark stems of the 
mighty beeches, guided by the gleam of the golden 
fleece, until they saw it hanging on one vast tree 
in the midst. And Jason would have sprung to 
seize it ; but Medeia held him back, and pointed, 
shuddering, to the tree-foot, where the mighty 
serpent lay, coiled in and out among the roots, 
with a body like a mountain pine. His coils 
io stretched many a fathom, spangled with bronze 
and gold ; and half of him they could see, but no 
more, for the rest lay in the darkness far beyond. 

And when he saw them coming he lifted up his 
head, and watched them with his small bright 
eyes, and flashed his forked tongue, and roared 
like the fire among the woodlands, till the forest 
tossed and groaned. For his cries shook the trees 
from leaf to root, and swept over the long reaches 
of the river, and over Aietes’ hall, and woke the 
20 sleepers in the city, till mothers clasped their 
children in their fear. 

But Medeia called gently to him, and he 
stretched out his long spotted neck, and licked 


THE ARGONAUTS 


139 


her hand, and looked up in her face, as if to ask 
for food. Then she made a sign to Orpheus, and 
he began his magic song. 

And as he sung, the forest grew calm again, 
and the leaves on every tree hung still; and the 
serpent’s head sank down, and his brazen coils 
grew limp, and his glittering eyes closed lazily, till 
he breathed as gently as a child, while Orpheus 
called to pleasant Slumber, who gives peace to 
men, and beasts, and waves. 10 

Then Jason leapt forward warily, and stept 
across that mighty snake, and tore the fleece from 
off the tree-trunk; and the four rushed down the 
garden, to the bank where the Argo lay. 

There was a silence for a moment, while Jason 
held the golden fleece on high. Then he cried, 

“ Go now, good Argo , swift and steady, if ever you 
would see Pelion more.” 

And she went, as the heroes drove her, grim 
and silent all, with muffled oars, till the pine-wood 20 
bent like willow in their hands, and stout Argo 
groaned beneath their strokes. 

On and on, beneath the dewy darkness, they 


140 


THE HEROES 


fled swiftly down the swirling stream ; underneath 
black walls, and temples, and the castles of the 
princes of the East ; past sluice-mouths, and 
fragrant gardens, and groves of all strange fruits ; 
past marshes where fat kine lay sleeping, and long 
beds of whispering reeds ; till they heard the 
merry music of the surge upon the bar, as it 
tumbled in the moonlight all alone. 

Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leapt the 
io breakers like a horse ; for she knew the time was 
come to show her mettle, and win honour for the 
heroes and herself. 

Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leapt the 
breakers like a horse, till the heroes stopped all 
panting, each man upon his oar, as she slid into 
the still broad sea. 

Then Orpheus took his harp and sang a paean, 
till the heroes’ hearts rose high again ; and they 
rowed on stoutly and steadfastly, away into the 
20 darkness of the West. 


PART V 


HOW THE ARGONAUTS WERE DRIVEN INTO THE 
UNKNOWN SEA 

So they fled away in haste to the westward ; but 
Aietes manned his fleet and followed them. And 
Lynceus the quick-eyed saw him coming, while he 
was still many a mile away, and cried, “I see a 
hundred ships, like a flock of white swans, far in 
the east.” And at that they rowed hard, like 
heroes ; but the ships came nearer every hour. 

Then Medeia, the dark witch-maiden, laid a 
cruel and a cunning plot ; for she killed Absyrtus 
her young brother, and cast him into the sea, and io 
said, “ Ere my father can take up his corpse and 
bury it, he must wait long, and be left far behind.” 

And all the heroes shuddered, and looked one 
at the other for shame ; yet they did not punish 
Lyn'ceus 
141 


142 


THE HEROES 


that dark witch-woman, because she had won for 
them the golden fleece. 

And when Aietes came to the place he saw the 
floating corpse ; and he stopped a long while, and 
bewailed his son, and took him up, and went 
home. But he sent on his sailors toward the 
westward, and bound them by a mighty curse — 
“ Bring back to me that dark witch-woman, that 
she may die a dreadful death. But if you return 
io without her, you shall die by the same death 
yourselves.” 

So the Argonauts escaped for that time : but 
Father Zeus saw that foul crime ; and out of the 
heavens he sent a storm, and swept the ship far 
from her course. Day after day the storm drove 
her, amid foam and blinding mist, till they know 
no longer where they were, for the sun was 
blotted from the skies. And at last the ship 
struck on a shoal, amid low isles of mud and 
20 sand, and the waves rolled over her and through 
her, and the heroes lost all hope of life. 

Then Jason cried to Hera, “Fair queen, who 
hast befriended us till now, why hast thou left us 


THE ARGONAUTS 


143 


in our misery, to die here among unknown seas ? 

It is hard to lose the honour which we have 
won with such toil and danger, and hard never 
to see Hellas again, and the pleasant bay of 
Pagasai.” 

Then out and spoke the magic bough which 
stood upon the Argo's beak, “ Because Father Zeus 
is angry, all this has fallen on you ; for a cruel 
crime has been done on board, and the sacred 
ship is foul with blood.” io 

At that some of the heroes cried, “Medeia is 
the murderess. Let the witch-woman bear her 
sin, and die ! ” And they seized Medeia, to hurl 
her into the sea, and atone for the young boy’s 
death ; but the magic bough spoke again, “ Let 
her live till .her crimes are full. Vengeance 
waits for her, slow and sure ; but she must live, 
for you need her still. She must show you the 
way to her sister Circe, who lives among the 
islands of the West. To her you must sail, 20 
a weary way, and she shall cleanse you from 
your guilt.” 

Then all the heroes wept aloud when they heard 


144 


THE HEROES 


the sentence of the oak ; for they knew that a dark 
journey lay before them, and years of bitter toil. 
And some upbraided the dark witch-woman, and 
some said, “ Nay, we are her debtors still ; without 
her we should never have won the fleece.” But 
most of them bit their lips in silence, for they 
feared the witch’s spells. 

And now the sea grew calmer, and the sun 
shone out once more, and the heroes thrust the 
io ship off the sand-bank, and rowed forward on 
their weary course under the guiding of the dark 
witch-maiden, into the wastes of the unknown sea. 

Whither they went I cannot tell, nor how they 
came to Circe’s isle. Some say that they went to 
the westward, and up the Ister 1 stream, and so 
came into the Adriatic, dragging their ship over 
the snowy Alps. And others say that they went 
southward, into the Red Indian Sea, and past the 
sunny lands where spices grow, round ^Ethiopia 
20 toward the West; and that at last they came to 
Libya, and dragged their ship across the burning 
sands, and over the hills into the Syrtis, where 
1 The Danube. Syr'tis. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


145 


the flats and quicksands spread for many a mile, 
between rich Cyrene and the Lotus-eaters’ shore. 
But all these are but dreams and fables, and dim 
hints of unknown lands. 

But all say that they came to a place where they 
had to drag their ship across the land nine days 
with ropes and rollers, till they came into an un- 
known sea. And the best of all the old songs 
tells us how they went away toward the North, 
till they came to the slope of Caucasus, where it io 
sinks into the sea ; and to the narrow Cimmerian 
Bosphorus , 1 where the Titan swam across upon the 
bull ; and thence into the lazy waters of the still 
Mseotid lake . 2 And thence they went northward 
ever, up the Tanais, which we call Don, past 
many a wandering shepherd-tribe, and the one- 
eyed Arimaspi, of whom old Greek poets tell, 
who steal the gold from the Griffins , 3 in the cold 
Riphaian hills . 4 

Cy-re'ne. Cim-me'ri-an. Mae-ot'id. 

Tan'a-is. Ar-i-mas'pi. Riph-ai'an. 

1 Between the Crimsea and Circassia. 2 The Sea of Azov. 

3 Fabulous monsters with head and wings of an eagle and 
the body of a lion. 4 The Ural Mountains. 


146 


THE HEROES 


And they passed the Scythian archers, and the 
Tauri who eat men, and the wandering Hyper- 
boreai, who feed their flocks beneath the pole- 
star, until they came into the northern ocean, the 
dull dead Cronian Sea . 1 And there Argo would 
move on no longer; and each man clasped his 
elbow, and leaned his head upon his hand, heart- 
broken with toil and hunger, and gave himself 
up to death. But brave Ancaios the helmsman 
io cheered up their hearts once more, and bade them 
leap on land, and haul the ship with ropes and 
rollers for many a weary day, whether over land, 
or mud, or ice, I know not, for the song is mixed 
and broken like a dream. And it says next, how 
they came to the rich nation of the famous long- 
lived men ; and to the coast of the Cimmerians, 
who never saw the sun, buried deep in the glens 
of the snow mountains; and to the fair land of 
Ilermione, where dwelt the most righteous of 
20 all nations ; and to the gates of the world below, 
and to the dwelling-place of dreams. 

And at last Ancaios shouted, “ Endure a little 
1 The Baltic ? Tau'ri. Her-mi'o-ne. 


Tau'ri. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


147 


while, brave friends, the worst is surely past ; for 
I can see the pure west wind ruffle the water, and 
hear the roar of ocean on the sands. So raise up 
the mast, and set the sail, and face what comes 
like men.” 

Then out spoke the magic bough, “ Ah, would 
that I had perished long ago, and been whelmed 
by the dread blue rocks, beneath the fierce swell 
of the Euxine ! Better so, than to wander for 
ever, disgraced b} r the guilt of my princes ; for 10 
the blood of Absyrtus still tracks me, and woe 
follows hard upon woe. And now some dark 
horror will clutch me, if I come near the Isle of 
Ierne. 1 Unless you will cling to the land, and 
sail southward and southward for ever, I shall 
wander beyond the Atlantic, to the ocean which 
has no shore.” 

Then they blest the magic bough, and sailed 
southward along the land. But ere they could 
pass Ierne, the land of mists and storms, the wild 20 
wind came down, dark and roaring, and caught 
the sail, and strained the ropes. And away they 
I-er'ne. 1 Britain ? 


148 


THE HEROES 


drove twelve nights, on the wide wild western 
sea, through the foam, and over the rollers, while 
they saw neither sun nor stars. And they cried 
again, “We shall perish, for we know not where 
we are. We are lost in the dreary damp dark- 
ness, and cannot tell north from south.” 

But Lynceus the long-sighted called gaily from 
the bows, “ Take heart again, brave sailors ; for I 
see a pine-clad isle, and the halls of the kind 
io Earth-mother, with a crown of clouds around 
them.” 

But Orpheus said, “ Turn from them, for no 
living man can land there : there is no harbour 
on the coast, but steep- walled cliffs all round.” 

So Ancaios turned the ship away ; and for three 
days more they sailed on, till they came to Aiaia, 
Circe’s home, and the fairy island of the W est . 1 

And there Jason bid them land, and seek about 
for any sign of living man. And as they went 
20 inland Circe met them, coming down toward the 
ship ; and they trembled when they saw her, for 
her hair, and face, and robes shone like flame. 

Ai-ai'a. 


The Azores ? 


THE ARGONAUTS 


149 


And she came and looked at Medeia ; and 
Medeia hid her face beneath her veil. 

And Circe cried, “ Ah, wretched girl, have you 
forgotten all your sins, that you come hither to 
my island, where the flowers bloom all the year 
round ? Where is your aged father, and the 
brother whom you killed ? Little do I expect 
3 r ou to return in safety with these strangers whom 
you love. I will send you food and wine : but 
your ship must not stay here, for it is foul with 10 
sin, and foul with sin its crew.” 

And the heroes prayed her, but in vain, and 
cried, “ Cleanse us from our guilt ! ” But she sent 
them away, and said, “ Go on to Malea, and there 
you may be cleansed, and return home.” 

Then a fair wind rose, and they sailed eastward, 
by Tartessus on the Iberian shore, till they came 
to the Pillars of Hercules, and the Mediterranean 
Sea. And thence they sailed on through the 
deeps of Sardinia, and past the capes of the Tyr- 20 
rhenian shore, till they came to a flowery island, 
upon a still bright summer’s eve. And as they 
Ma'le-a. Tar-tes'sus. Tyr-rhe'ni-an. 


150 


THE HEROES 


neared it, slowly and wearily, they heard sweet 
songs upon the shore. But when Medeia heard 
it, she started and cried, “ Beware, all heroes, for 
these are the rocks of the Sirens. You must pass 
close by them, for there is no other channel ; but 
those who listen to that song are lost.” 

Then Orpheus spoke, the king of all minstrels, 
“Let them match their song against mine. I have 
charmed stones, and trees, and dragons, how much 
io more the hearts of men ! ” So he caught up his 
lyre, and stood upon the poop, and began his 
magic song. 

And now they could see the Sirens on Anthe- 
musa, the flowery isle ; three fair maidens sitting 
on the beach, beneath a red rock in the setting 
sun, among beds of crimson poppies and golden 
asphodel. Slowly they sung and sleepily, with 
silver voices, mild and clear, which stole over the 
golden waters, and into the hearts of all the 
20 heroes, in spite of Orpheus’ song. 

And all things stayed around and listened ; the 
gulls sat in white lines along the rocks ; on the 
An-the-mu'sa. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


151 


beach great seals lay basking, and kept time with 
lazy heads ; while silver shoals of fish came up to 
hearken, and whispered as they broke the shining 
calm. The Wind overhead hushed his whistling, 
as he shepherded his clouds toward the west ; and 
the clouds stood in mid blue, and listened dream- 
ing, like a flock of golden sheep. 

And as the heroes listened, the oars fell from 
their hands, and their heads drooped on their 
breasts, and they closed their heavy eyes ; and jo 
they dreamed of bright still gardens, and of slum- 
bers under murmuring pines, till all their toil 
seemed foolishness, and they thought of their 
renown no more. 

Then one lifted his head suddenly, and cried, 
“What use in wandering for ever? Let us stay 
here and rest awhile.” And another, “ Let us row 
to the shore, and hear the words they sing.” And 
another, “ I care not for the words, but for the 
music. They shall sing me to sleep, that I may 20 
rest.” 

And Butes, the sun of Pandion, the fairest of all 
mortal men, leapt out and swam toward the shore, 


152 


THE HEROES 


crying, “ I come, I come, fair maidens, to live and 
die here, listening to your song.” 

Then Medeia clapped her hands together, and 
cried, “Sing louder, Orpheus, sing a bolder strain ; 
wake up these hapless sluggards, or none of them 
will see the land of Hellas more.” 

Then Orpheus lifted his harp, and crashed his 
cunning hand across the strings ; and his music 
and his voice rose like a trumpet through the still 
io evening air; into the air it rushed like thunder, 
till the rocks rang and the sea; and into their 
souls it rushed like wine, till all hearts beat fast 
within their breasts. 

And he sung the song of Perseus, how the Gods 
led him over land and sea, and how he slew the 
loathly Gorgon, and won himself a peerless bride ; 
and how he sits now with the Gods upon Olympus, 
a shining star in the sky, immortal with his im- 
mortal bride, and honoured by all men below. 

20 So Orpheus sang, and the Sirens, answering 
each other across the golden sea, till Orpheus’ 
voice drowned the Sirens’, and the heroes caught 
their oars again. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


153 


And they cried, “We will be men like Perseus, 
and we will dare and suffer to the last. Sing us 
his song again, brave Orpheus, that we may for- 
get the Sirens and their spell.” 

And as Orpheus sang, they dashed their oars 
into the sea, and kept time to his music, as they 
fled fast away; and the Sirens’ voices died be- 
hind them, in the hissing of the foam along their 
wake. 

But Butes swam to the shore, and knelt down ™ 
before the Sirens, and cried, “ Sing on ! sing on ! ” 
But he could say no more, for a charmed sleep 
came over him, and a pleasant humming in his 
ears ; and he sank all along upon the pebbles, and 
forgot all heaven and earth, and never looked at 
that sad beach around him, all strewn with the 
bones of men. 

Then slowly rose up those three fair sisters, 
with a cruel smile upon their lips ; and slowly they 
crept down towards him, like leopards who creep 20 
upon their prey ; and their hands were like the 
talons of eagles as they stept across the bones of 
their victims to enjoy their cruel feast. 


154 


THE HEROES 


But fairest Aphrodite saw him from the highest 
Idalian peak, and she pitied his youth and his 
beauty, and leapt up from her golden throne ; and 
like a falling star she cleft the sky, and left a trail 
of glittering light, till she stooped to the Isle of 
the Sirens, and snatched their prey from their 
claws. And she lifted Butes as he lay sleeping, 
and wrapt him in a golden mist ; and she bore 
him to the peak of Lilybseum, and he slept there 
io many a pleasant year. 

But when the Sirens saw that they were con- 
quered, they shrieked for envy and rage, and leapt 
from the beach into the sea, and were changed 
into rocks until this day. 

Then they came to the straits by Lilybaeum, and 
saw Sicily, the three-cornered island, under which 
Enceladus the giant lies groaning day and night, 
and when he turns the earth quakes, and his breath 
bursts out in roaring flames from the highest cone 
20 of iEtna, above the chestnut woods. And there 


Aph-ro-di'te. 
and beauty. 
I-da'li-an. 


A daughter of Zeus and the goddess of love 


Lil-y-bae'ura. 


En-ce-la'dus. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


155 


Chary bdis caught them in its fearful coils of wave, 
and rolled mast-high about them, and spun them 
round and round ; and they could go neither hack 
nor forward, while the whirlpool sucked them in. 

And while they struggled they saw near them, 
on the other side the strait, a rock stand in the 
water, with its peak wrapt round in clouds — a rock 
which no man could climb, though he had twenty 
hands and feet, for the stone was smooth and 
slippery, as if polished by man’s hand ; and half- io 
way up a misty cave looked out toward the west. 

And when Orpheus saw it he groaned, and 
struck his hands together. And “Little will it 
help us,” he cried, “ to escape the jaws of the 
whirlpool ; for in that cave lives Scylla, the sea- 
hag with a young whelp’s voice ; my mother 
warned me of her ere we sailed away from Hellas ; 
she has six heads, and six long necks, and hides 
in that dark cleft. And from her cave she fishes 

Cha-ryb'dis. A whirlpool near the coast of Sicily in the 
Strait of Messina. 

Scyl'la. A rocky point of land off the coast of Italy in the 
Strait of Messina. 


156 


THE HEROES 


for all things which pass by — for sharks, and 
seals, and dolphins, and all the herds of Amphi- 
trite. And never ship’s crew boasted that they 
came safe by her rock, for she bends her long 
necks down to them, and every mouth takes up 
a man. And who will help us now? For Hera 
and Zeus hate us, and our ship is foul with guilt ; 
so we must die, whatever befalls.” 

Then out of the depths came Thetis, Peleus’ 
io silver-footed bride, for love of her gallant hus- 
band, and all her nymphs around her ; and they 
played like snow-white dolphins, diving on from 
wave to wave, before the ship, and in her wake, 
and beside her, as dolphins play. And they 
caught the ship, and guided her, and passed her 
on from hand to hand, and tossed her through 
the billows, as maidens toss the ball. And 
when Scylla stooped to seize her, they struck 
back her ravening heads, and foul Scylla 
20 whined, as a whelp whines, at the touch of their 
gentle hands. But she shrank into her cave 
affrighted — for all bad things shrink from good 
Am-phi-tri'te. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


157 


— and Argo leapt safe past her, while a fair breeze 
rose behind. Then Thetis and her nymphs sank 
down to their coral caves beneath the sea, and 
their gardens of green and purple, where live 
flowers bloom all the year round ; while the 
heroes went on rejoicing, yet dreading what 
might come next. 

After that they rowed on steadily for many a 
weary day, till they saw a long high island, and 
beyond it a mountain land. And they searched io 
till they found a harbour, and there rowed boldly 
in. But after awhile they stopped, and wondered, 
for there stood a great city on the shore, and tem- 
ples and walls and gardens, and castles high in air 
upon the cliffs. And on either side they saw a 
harbour, with a narrow mouth, but wide within ; 
and black ships without number, high and dry 
upon the shore. 

Then Ancaios, the wise helmsman, spoke, “ What 
new wonder is this? I know all isles, and har- 2 o 
bours, and the windings of all seas; and this 
should be Corcyra, where a few wild goat-herds 
Cor-cy'ra. 


158 


THE HEROES 


dwell. But whence come these new harbours 
and vast works of polished stone?” 

But Jason said, “ They can be no savage people. 
We will go in and take our chance.” 

So they rowed into the harbour, among a 
thousand black-beaked ships, each larger far 
than Argo , toward a quay of polished stone. 
And they wondered at that mighty city, with 
its roofs of burnished brass, and long and lofty 
io walls of marble, with strong palisades above. 
And the quays were full of people, merchants, 
and mariners, and slaves, going to and fro with 
merchandise among the crowd of ships. And 
the heroes’ hearts were humbled, and they looked 
at each other and said, “We thought ourselves a 
gallant crew when we sailed from Iolcos by the 
sea ; but how small we look before this city, like 
an ant before a hive of bees.” 

Then the sailors hailed them roughly from the 
20 quay, “ What men are you ? — we want no stran- 
gers here, nor pirates. We keep our business to 
ourselves.” 

But Jason answered gently, with many a flatter- 


THE ARGONAUTS 


159 


ing word, and praised their city and their harbour, 
and their fleet of gallant ships. “ Surely you are 
the children of Poseidon, and the masters of the 
sea; and we are but poor wandering mariners, 
worn out with thirst and toil. Give us but food 
and water, and we will go on our voyage in peace.” 

Then the sailors laughed, and answered, 

“ Stranger, you are no fool ; you talk like an 
honest man, and you shall find us honest too. 
We are the children of Poseidon, and the masters io 
of the sea ; but come ashore to us, and you shall 
have the best that we can give.” 

So they limped ashore, all stiff and weary, with 
long ragged beards and sunburnt cheeks, and 
garments torn and weather-stained, and weapons 
rusted with the spray, while the sailors laughed at 
them (for they were rough-tongued, though their 
hearts were frank and kind). And one said, 

“ These fellows are but raw sailors ; they look as 
if they had been sea-sick all the day.” And 20 
another, “Their legs have grown crooked with 
much rowing, till they waddle in their walk like 
ducks.” 


160 


THE HEROES 


At that Idas the rash would have struck them ; 
but Jason held him back, till one of the merchant 
kings spoke to them, a tall and stately man. 

“ Do not be angry, strangers ; the sailor boys 
must have their jest. But we will treat you justly 
and kindly, for strangers and poor men come from 
God ; and you seem no common sailors by your 
strength, and height, and weapons. Come up 
with me to the palace of Alcinous, the rich sea- 
io going king, and we will feast you well and 
heartily; and after that you shall tell us your 
name.” 

But Medeia hung back, and trembled, and 
whispered in Jason’s ear, “We are betrayed, and 
are going to our ruin, for I see my countrymen 
among the crowd ; dark-eyed Colchi in steel mail- 
shirts, such as they wear in my father’s land.” 

“It is too late to turn,” said Jason. And he 
spoke to the merchant king, “ What country is this, 
20 good sir ; and what is this new-built town? ” 

“ This is the land of the Pliseaces, beloved by 
all the Immortals ; for they come hither and feast 
Al-cin'o-us. Phse-a'ces. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


161 


like friends with us, and sit by our side in the hall. 
Hither we came from Liburnia to escape the un- 
righteous Cyclopes ; for they robbed us, peaceful 
merchants, of our hard-earned wares and wealth. 
So Nausithous, the son of Poseidon, brought us 
hither, and died in peace ; and now his son 
Alcinous rules us, and Arete the wisest of 
queens.” 

So they went up across the square, and won- 
dered still more as they went; for along the quays io 
lay in order great cables, and yards, and masts, 
before the fair temple of Poseidon, the blue-haired 
king of the seas. And round the square worked 
the shipwrights, as many in number as ants, 
twining ropes, and hewing timber, and smoothing 
long yards and oars. And the Minuai went on in 
silence through clean white marble streets, till 
they came to the hall of Alcinous, and they won- 
dered then still more. For the lofty palace shone 
aloft ‘in the sun, with walls of plated brass, from 20 
the threshold to the innermost chamber, and the 
doors were of silver and gold. And on each side 
Nau-sith'o-us. ' A-re'te. 


Li-bur ne-a. 


162 


THE HEROES 


of the doorway sat living dogs of gold, who never 
grew old or died, so well Hephaistos had made 
them in his forges in smoking Lemnos, and gave 
them to Alcinons to guard his gates by night. 
And within, against the walls, stood thrones on 
either side, down the whole length of the hall, 
strewn with rich glossy shawls ; and on them the 
merchant kings of those crafty sea-roving Phseaces 
sat eating and drinking in pride, and feasting 
io there 'all the year round. And boys of molten 
gold stood each on a polished altar, and held torches 
in their hands, to give light all night to the guests. 
And round the house sat fifty maid-servants, some 
grinding the meal in the mill, some turning the 
spindle, some weaving at the loom, while their 
hands twinkled as they passed the shuttle, like 
quivering aspen leaves. 

And outside before the palace a great garden 
was walled round, filled full of stately fruit-trees, 

He-phais'tos was the son of Zeus and Hera and was the god of 
fire. He was also the blacksmith of the gods and fashioned 
many strange things in metal. He is usually called by his Latin 
name Vulcan. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


163 


grey olives, and sweet figs, and pomegranates, 
pears, and apples, which bore the whole year 
round. For the rich south-west wind fed them, 
till pear grew ripe on pear, fig on fig, and grape 
on grape, all the winter and the spring. And at 
the further end gay flower-beds bloomed through 
all seasons of the year; and two fair fountains 
rose, and ran, one through the garden grounds, 
and one beneath the palace gate, to water all the 
town. Such noble gifts the heavens had given to 10 
Alcinous the wise. 

So they went in, and saw him sitting, like 
Poseidon, on his throne, with his golden sceptre 
by him, in garments stiff with gold, and in his 
hand a sculptured goblet, as he pledged the 
merchant kings ; and beside him stood Arete, his 
wise and lovely queen, and leaned against a pillar 
as she spun her golden threads. 

Then Alcinous rose, and welcomed them, 
and bade them sit and eat ; and the servants 20 
brought them tables, and bread, and meat, and 
wine. 

But Medeia went on trembling toward Arete 


164 


THE HEROES 


the fair queen, and fell at her knees, and clasped 
them, and cried, weeping, as she knelt — 

“ I am your guest, fair queen, and I entreat you 
by Zeus, from whom prayers come. Do not send 
me back to my father to die some dreadful 
death ; but let me go my way, and bear my 
burden. Have I not had enough of punishment 
and shame ? ,x 

“ Who are you, strange maiden ? and what is 
io the meaning of your prayer ? ” 

“ I am Medeia, daughter of Aietes, and I saw 
my countrymen here to-day ; and I know that 
they are come to find me, and take me home to 
die some dreadful death.” 

Then Arete frowned, and said, Lead this girl 
in, my maidens ; and let the kings decide, not I.” 

And Alcinous leapt up from his throne, and 
cried, “Speak, strangers, who are you? and who 
is this maiden ? ” 

20 “We are the heroes of the Minuai,” said Jason ; 
“and this maiden has spoken truth. We are the 
men who took the golden fleece, the men whose 
fame has run round every shore. We came 


THE ARGONAUTS 


165 


hither out of the ocean, after sorrows such as man 
never saw before. We went out many, and come 
back few, for many a noble comrade have we lost. 
So let us go, as you should let your guests go, in 
peace ; that the world may say, 4 Alcinous is a 
just king.’” 

But Alcinous frowned, and stood deep in 
thought ; and at last he spoke — 

44 Had not the deed been done which is done, I 
should have said this day to myself, 4 It is an i 0 
honour to Alcinous, and to his children after him, 
that the far-famed Argonauts are his guests.’ 
But these Colchi are my guests, as you are ; and 
for this month they have waited here with all 
their fleet, for they have hunted all the seas of 
Hellas, and could not find you, and dared neither 
go farther, nor go home.” 

44 Let them choose out their champions, and we 
will fight them, man for man.” 

“No guests of ours shall fight upon our island, 2 o 
and if you go outside they will outnumber you. I 
will do justice between you, for I know and do 
what is right.” 


166 


THE HEROES 


Then he turned to his kings, and said, “ This may 
stand over till to-morrow. To-night we will feast 
our guests, and hear the story of all their wander- 
ings, and how they came hither out of the ocean.” 

So Alcinous bade the servants take the heroes 
in, and bathe them, and give them clothes. And 
they were glad when they saw the warm water, for 
it was long since they had bathed. And they 
washed off the sea-salt from their limbs, and 
io anointed themselves from head to foot with oil, 
and combed out their golden hair. Then they 
came back again into the hall, while the merchant 
kings rose up to do them honour. And each 
man said to his neighbour, “No wonder that these 
men won fame. How they stand now like Giants, 
or Titans, or Immortals come down from Olympus, 
though many a winter has worn them, and many 
a fearful storm. What must they have been when 
they sailed from Iolcos, in the bloom of their 
20 youth, long ago ? ” 

Then they went out to the garden ; and the 
merchant princes said, “ Heroes, run races with 
us. Let us see whose feet are nimblest.” 


THE ARGONAUTS 


167 


“We cannot race against you, for our limbs are 
stiff from sea : and we have lost our two swift 
comrades, the sons of the north wind. But do 
not think us cowards : if you wish to try our 
strength, we will shoot, and box, and wrestle, 
against any men on earth.” 

And Alcinous smiled, and answered, “ I believe 
you, gallant guests ; with your long limbs and 
broad shoulders, we could never match you here. 
For we care nothing here for boxing, or for shoot- 10 
ing with the bow ; but for feasts, and songs, and 
harping, and dancing, and running races, to 
stretch our limbs on shore.” 

So they danced there and ran races, the jolly 
merchant kings, till the night fell, and all went in. 

And then they ate and drank, and comforted 
their weary souls, till Alcinous called a herald, 
and bade him go and fetch the harper. 

The herald went out, and fetched the harper, 
and led him in by the hand ; and Alcinous cut 20 
him a piece of meat, from the fattest of the 
haunch, and sent it to him, and said, “ Sing to us, 
noble harper, and rejoice the heroes’ hearts.” 


168 


THE HEROES 


So the harper played and sang, while the 
dancers danced strange figures ; and after that 
the tumblers showed their tricks, till the heroes 
laughed again. 

Then, “ Tell me, heroes,” asked Alcinous, “ you 
who have sailed the ocean round, and seen the 
manners of all nations, have you seen such 
dancers as ours here, or heard such music and 
such singing? We hold ours to be the best on 
io earth.” 

“ Such dancing we have never seen,” said 
Orpheus ; “ and your singer is a happy man, for 
Phoebus himself must have taught him, or else he 
is the son of a muse, as I am also, and have sung 
once or twice, though not so well as he.” 

“ Sing to us, then, noble stranger,” said Alcin- 
ous ; “ and we will give you precious gifts.” . 

So Orpheus took his magic harp, and sang to 
them a stirring song of their voyage from Iolcos, 
20 and their dangers, and how they won the golden 
fleece ; and of Medeia’s love, and how she helped 
them, and went with them over land and sea ; 
and of all their fearful dangers, from monsters, 


THE ARGONAUTS 


169 


and rocks, and storms, till the heart of Arete was 
softened, and all the women wept. And the 
merchant kings rose up, each man from off his 
golden throne, and clapped their hands, and 
shouted, “ Hail to the noble Argonauts, who sailed 
the unknown sea ! ” 

Then he went on, and told their journey over 
the sluggish northern main, and through the shore- 
less outer ocean, to the fairy island of the west ; 
and of the Sirens, and Scylla, and Charybdis, and io 
all the wonders they had seen, till midnight passed 
and the day dawned ; but the kings never thought 
of sleep. Each man sat still and listened, with 
his chin upon his hand. 

And at last, when Orpheus had ended, they all 
went thoughtful out, and the heroes lay down to 
sleep, beneath the sounding porch outside, where 
Arete had strewn them rugs and carpets, in the 
sweet still summer night. 

But Arete pleaded hard with her husband for 20 
Medeia, for her heart was softened. And she said, 

“ The Gods will punish her, not we. After all, she 
is our guest and my suppliant, and prayers are the 


170 


THE HEROES 


daughters of Zeus. And who, too, dare part man 
and wife, after all they have endured together ? ” 
And Alcinous smiled. “ The minstrel’s song has 
charmed you : but I must remember what is right, 
for songs cannot alter justice ; and I must be faith- 
ful to my name. Alcinous I am called, the man 
of sturdy sense ; and Alcinous I will be.” But for 
all that Arete besought him, until she won him 
round. 

io So next morning he sent a herald, and called 
the kings into the square, and said, “ This is a 
puzzling matter : remember but one thing. These 
Minuai live close by us, and we may meet them 
often on the seas ; but Aietes lives afar off, and we 
have only heard his name. Which, then, of the 
two is it safer to offend — the men near us, or the 
men far off ? ” 

The princes laughed, and praised his wisdom ; 
and Alcinous called the heroes to the square, and 
20 the Colchi also ; and they came and stood opposite 
each other, but Medeia stayed in the palace. Then 
Alcinous spoke, “ Heroes of the Colchi, what is 
your errand about this lad}' ? ” 


THE ARGONAUTS 


171 


“To carry her home with ns, that she may die a 
shameful death ; but if we return without her, we 
must die the death she should have died.” 

“ What say you to this, Jason the iEolid ? ” said 
Alcinous, turning to the Minuai. 

“ I say,” said the cunning Jason, “that they are 
come here on a bootless errand. Do you think that 
you can make her follow you, heroes of the Colchi 
— her, who knows all spells and charms ? She 
will cast away your ships on quicksands, or call io 
down on you Brimo the wild huntress ; or the 
chains will fall from off her wrists, and she will 
escape in her dragon-car ; or if not thus, some other 
way, for she has a thousand plans and wiles. And 
why return home at all, brave heroes, and face the 
long seas again, and the Bosphorus, and the stormy 
Euxine, and double all your toil ? There is many 
a fair land round these coasts, which waits for 
gallant men like you. Better to settle there, and 
build a city, and let Aietes and Colchis help them- 20 
selves.” 

Then a murmur rose among the Colchi, and some 
cried, “ He has spoken well ; ” and some, “We have 


172 


THE HEROES 


had enough of roving, we will sail the seas no 
more ! ” And the chief said at last, “ Be it so, 
then ; a plague she has been to us, and a plague to 
the house of her father, and a plague she will be to 
you. Take her, since you are no wiser ; and we 
will sail away toward the north.” 

Then Alcinous gave them food, and water, and 
garments, and rich presents of all sorts ; and he 
gave the same to the Minuai, and sent them all 
io away in peace. 

So Jason' kept the dark witch-maiden to breed 
him woe and shame ; and the Colchi went north- 
ward into the Adriatic, and settled, and built towns 
along the shore. 

Then the heroes rowed away to the eastward, 
to reach Hellas, their beloved land ; but a storm 
came down upon them, and swept them far away 
toward the south. And they rowed till they were 
spent with struggling, through the darkness and 
20 the blinding rain ; but where they were they could 
not tell, and they gave up all hope of life. And 
at last they touched the ground, and when daylight 
came they waded to the shore ; and saw nothing 


THE ARGONAUTS 


173 


round but sand and desolate salt pools, for they 
had come to the quicksands of the Syrtis, and the 
dreary treeless flats which lie between Numidia 
and Cyrene, on the burning shore of Africa. And 
there they wandered starving for many a weary 
day, ere they could launch their ship again, and 
gain the open sea. And there Canthus was killed, 
while he was trying to drive off sheep, by a stone 
which a herdsman threw. 

And there too Mopsus died, the seer who knew io 
the voices of all birds ; but he could not foretell 
his own end, for he was bitten in the foot by a 
snake, one of those which sprang from the Gorgon’s 
head when Perseus carried it across the sands. 

At last they rowed away toward the northward, 
for many a weary day, till their water was spent, 
and their food eaten ; and they were worn out with 
hunger and thirst. But at last they saw a long 
steep island, and a blue peak high among the 
clouds ; and they knew it for the peak of Ida, and 20 
the famous land of Crete. And they said, u We will 
land in Crete, and see Minos the just king, and all 
Nu-mid'i-a. 


Mi'nos. 


174 


THE HEROES 


his glory and his wealth ; at least he will treat us 
hospitably, and let us fill our water-casks upon the 
shore.” 

But when they came nearer to the island they 
saw a wondrous sight upon the cliffs. For on a 
cape to the westward stood a giant, taller than any 
mountain pine, who glittered aloft against the sky 
like a tower of burnished brass. He turned and 
looked on all sides round him, till lie saw the Argo 
io and her crew ; and when he saw them he came 
toward them, more swiftly than the swiftest horse, 
leaping across the glens at a bound, and striding 
at one step from down to down. And when he 
came abreast of them he brandished his arms up 
and down, as a ship hoists and lowers her yards, 
and shouted with his brazen throat like a trumpet 
from off the hills, “ You are pirates, you are robbers! 
If you dare land here, you die.” 

Then the heroes cried, “ We are no pirates. We 
20 are all good men and true, and all we ask is food 
and water ; ” but the giant cried the more — 

“You are robbers, you are pirates all ; I know 
you; and if you land, you shall die the death.” 


THE ARGONAUTS 


175 


Then he waved his arms again as a signal, and 
they saw the people flying inland, driving their 
flocks before them, while a great flame arose among 
the hills. Then the giant ran up a valley and 
vanished, and the heroes lay on their oars in fear. 

But Medeia stood watching all from under her 
steep black brows, with a cunning smile upon her 
lips and a cunning plot within her heart. At last 
she spoke, “ I know this giant. I heard of him in 
the East. Ilephaistos the Fire King made him io 
in his forge in iEtna beneath the earth, and called 
him Talus, and gave him to Minos for a servant, 
to guard the coast of Crete. Thrice a day he 
walks round the island, and never stops to sleep ; 
and if strangers land he leaps into his furnace, 
which flames there among the hills ; and when he 
is red-hot he rushes on them, and burns them in 
his brazen hands.” 

Then all the heroes cried, “ What shall we do, 
wise Medeia? We must have water, or we die of 20 
thirst. Flesh and blood we can face fairly ; but 
who can face this red-hot brass ? ” 


Ta'lus. 


176 


THE HEROES 


“ I can face red-hot brass, if the tale I hear be 
true. For they say that he has but one vein in 
all his body, filled with liquid fire ; and that this 
vein is closed with a nail : but I know not where 
that nail is placed. But if I can get it once into 
these hands, you shall water your ship here in 
peace.” 

Then she bade them put her on shore, and row 
off again, and wait what would befall. 

And the heroes obeyed her unwillingly, for they 
were ashamed to leave her so alone ; but Jason 
said, “ She is dearer to me than to any of you, yet 
I will trust her freely on shore ; she has more 
plots than we can dream of in the windings of 
that fair and cunning head.” 

So they left the witch-maiden on the shore ; and 
she stood there in her beauty all alone, till the 
giant strode back red-hot from head to heel, while 
the grass hissed and smoked beneath his tread. 

And when he saw the maiden alone, he stopped ; 
and she looked boldly up into his face without 
moving, and began her magic song : — 

“ Life is short, though life is sweet ; and even 


THE ARGONAUTS 


177 


men of brass and fire must die. The Trass must 
rust, the fire must cool, for time gnaws all things 
in their turn. Life is short, though life is sweet : 
but sweeter to live for ever ; sweeter to live ever 
youthful like the Gods, who have ichor in their 
veins — ichor which gives life, and youth, and 
joy, and a bounding heart.” 

Then Talus said, “ Who are you, strange maiden, 
and where is this ichor of youth ? ” 

Then Medeia held up a flask of crystal, and io 
said, “ Here is the ichor of youth. I am Medeia 
the enchantress ; my sister Circe gave me this, 
and said, ‘ Go and reward Talus, the faithful ser- 
vant, for his fame is gone out into all lands.’ So 
come, and I will pour this into your veins, that 
you may live for ever young.” 

And he listened to her false words, that simple 
Talus, and came near ; and Medeia said, “ Dip 
yourself in the sea first, and cool yourself, lest you 
burn my tender hands ; then show me where the 20 
nail in your vein is, that I may pour the ichor 
in.” 

Then that simple Talus dipped himself in the 

N 


178 


THE HEROES 


sea, till it hissed, and roared, and smoked ; and 
came and knelt before Medeia, and showed her 
the secret nail. 

And she drew the nail out gently, but she poured 
no ichor in ; and instead the liquid fire spouted 
forth, like a stream of red-hot iron. And Talus 
tried to leap up, crying, “You have betrayed me, 
false witch-maiden ! ” But she lifted up her hands 
before him, and sang, till he sank beneath her 
io spell. And, as he sank, his brazen limbs clanked 
heavily, and the earth groaned beneath his weight ; 
and the liquid fire ran from his heel, like a stream 
of lava, to the sea ; and Medeia laughed, and 
called to the heroes, “Come ashore, and water 
your ship in peace.” 

So they came, and found the giant lying dead ; 
and they fell down, and kissed Medeia’s feet ; and 
watered their ship, and took sheep and oxen, and 
so left that inhospitable shore. 

20 At last, after many more adventures, they came 
to the Cape of Malea, at the south-west point of 
the Peloponnese. And there they offered sacrifices, 


THE ARGONAUTS 


179 


and Orpheus purged them from their guilt. Then 
they rode away again to the northward, past the 
Laconian shore, and came all worn and tired, by 
Sunium, and up the long Euboean Strait, until 
they saw once more Pelion, and Aphetai, and 
Iolcos by the sea. 

And they ran the ship ashore ; but they had no 
strength left to haul her up the beach ; and they 
crawled out on the pebbles, and sat down, and 
wept till they could weep no more. For the io 
houses and the trees were all altered ; and all the 
faces which they saw were strange ; and their joy 
was swallowed up in sorrow, while they thought 
of their youth, and all their labour, and the gal- 
lant comrades they had lost. 

And the people crowded round, and asked 
them, “ Who are you, that you sit weeping 
here ? ” 

“We are the sons of your princes, who sailed 
out many a year ago. We went to fetch the 20 
golden fleece, and we have brought it, and grief 
therewith. Give us news of our fathers and 

La-co'ni-an. 


180 


THE HEROES 


our mothers, if any of them be left alive on 
earth.” 

Then there was shouting, and laughing, and 
weeping ; and all the kings came to the shore, 
and they led away the heroes to their homes, and 
bewailed the valiant dead. 

Then Jason went up with Medeia to the palace 
of his uncle Pelias. And when he came in Pelias 
sat by the hearth, crippled and blind with age ; 
io while opposite him sat iEson, Jason’s father, 
crippled and blind likewise ; and the two old 
men’s heads shook together as they tried to warm 
themselves before the fire. 

And Jason fell down at his father’s knees, and 
wept, and called him by his name. And the old 
man stretched his hands out, and felt him, and 
said, “ Do not mock me, young hero. My son 
Jason is dead long ago at sea.” 

“I am your own son Jason, whom you trusted 
20 to the Centaur upon Pelion ; and I have brought 
home the golden fleece, and a princess of the 
Sun’s race for my bride. So now give me up the 
kingdom, Pelias my uncle, and fulfil your promise 
as I have fulfilled mine.” 


THE ARGONAUTS 


181 


Then his father clung to him like a child, and 
wept, and would not let him go ; and cried, “ Now 
I shall not go down lonely to my grave. Promise 
me never to leave me till I die.” 


PART VI 


WHAT WAS THE END OF THE HEROES 

And now I wish that I could end my story 
pleasantly ; but it is no fault of mine that I can- 
not. The old songs end it sadly, and I believe 
that they are right and wise ; for. though the 
heroes were purified at Malea, yet sacrifices can- 
not make bad hearts good, and Jason had taken 
a wicked wife, and he had to bear his burden to 
the last. 

And first she laid a cunning plot to punish that 
IQ poor old Pelias, instead of letting him die in 
peace. 

For she told his daughters, “I can make old 
things young again ; I will show you how easy it 
is to do.” So she took an old ram and killed him, 
and put him in a cauldron with magic herbs ; and 
whispered her spells over him, and he leapt out 
182 


THE ARGONAUTS 


183 


again a young lamb. So that “ Medeia’s cauldron ” 
is a proverb still, by which we mean times of war 
and change, when the world has become old and 
feeble, and grows young again through bitter 
pains. 

Then she said to Pelias’ daughters, “ Do to your 
father as I did to this ram, and he will grow young 
and strong again.” But she only told them half 
the spell ; so they failed, while Medeia mocked 
them ; and poor old Pelias died, and his daughters io 
came to misery. But the songs say she cured 
iEson, Jason’s father, and he became young and 
strong again. 

But Jason could not love her, after all her 
cruel deeds. So he was ungrateful to her, and 
wronged her ; and she revenged herself on him. 
And a terrible revenge she took — too terrible to 
speak of here. But you will hear of it yourselves 
when you grow up, for i£ has been sung in noble 
poetry and music ; and whether it be true or not, 20 
it stands for ever as a warning to us not to seek 
for help from evil persons, or to gain good ends 
by evil means. For if we use an adder even 


184 


THE HEROES 


against our enemies, it will turn again and sting 
us. 

But of all the other heroes there is many a 
brave tale left, which I have no space to tell you, 
so you must read them for yourselves ; — of the 
hunting of the hoar in Calydon, which Meleager 
killed ; and of Heracles’ twelve famous labours ; 
and of the seven who fought at Thebes ; and of 
the noble love of Castor and Polydeuces, the twin 
io Dioscuri — how when one died the other would 
not live without him, so they shared their im- 
mortality between them ; and Zeus changed 
them into the two twin stars which never rise 
both at once. 

And what became of Cheiron, the good im- 
mortal beast ? That, too, is a sad story ; for the 
heroes never saw him more. He was wounded 
by a poisoned arrow, at Pholoe among the hills, 
when Heracles opened the fatal wine- jar, which 
20 Cheiron had warned him not to touch. And the 
Centaurs smelt the wine, and flocked to it, and 
fought for it with Heracles ; but he killed them 
Cal'y-don. Me-le-a'ger. Di-os-cu'ri, Phol'o-e. 


THE ARGONAUTS 


185 


all with his poisoned arrows, and Cheiron was left 
alone. Then Cheiron took up one of the arrows, 
and dropped it by chance upon his foot ; and the 
poison ran like fire along his veins, and he lay 
down and longed to die ; and cried, “ Through 
wine I perish, the bane of all my race. Why 
should I live for ever in this agony ? Who will 
take my immortality, that I may die ? ” 

Then Prometheus answered, the good Titan, 
whom Heracles had set free from Caucasus, “ I io 
will take your immortality and live for ever, that 
I may help poor mortal men.” So Cheiron gave 
him his immortality, and died, and had rest from 
pain. And Heracles and Prometheus wept over 
him, and went to bury him on Pelion ; but Zeus 
took him up among the stars, to live for ever, 
grand and mild, low down in the far southern sky. 

And in time the heroes died, all but Nestor, 
the silver-tongued old man ; and left behind them 
valiant sons, but not so great as they had been. 20 
Yet their fame, too, lives till this day, for they 
fought at the ten years’ siege of Troy : and their 
story is in the book which we call Homer, in two 


186 


THE HEROES 


of the noblest songs on earth — the “Iliad,” which 
tells us of the siege of Troy, and Achilles’ quarrel 
with the kings ; and the “ Odyssey ” which tells 
the wanderings of Odysseus, through many lands 
for many years, and how Alcinous sent him home 
at last, safe to Ithaca his beloved island, and to 
Penelope his faithful wife, and Telemachus his 
son, and Euphorbus the noble swineherd, and the 
old dog who licked his hand and died. We will 
io read that sweet story, children, by the fire some 
winter night. And now I will end my tale, and 
begin another and a more cheerful one, of a hero 
who became a worthy king, and won his people’s 
love. 

U'i-ad. A-chil'les. Od'ys-sey. O-dys'seus. 

Pe-nel'o-pe. Te-lenV'a-chus. Eu-phorb'us. 


STORY III. — THESEUS 


PART I 

HOW THESEUS LIFTED THE STOKE 

Once upon a time there was a princess in Troe- 
zene, Aithra, the daughter of Pittheus the king. 
She had one fair son, named Theseus, the bravest 
lad in all the land ; and Aithra never smiled but 
when she looked at him, for her husband had for- 
gotten her, and lived far away. And she used to 
go up to the mountain above Troezene, to the 
temple of Poseidon, and sit there all day looking 
out across the bay, over Methana, to the purple 
peaks of Angina and the Attic shore beyond. And io 
when Theseus was full fifteen years old she took 
him up with her to the temple, and into the thickets 

The'seus (the'sus or the'se-us). Ai'thra. 

Pit/theus. Troe-ze'ne. 

187 


I 


188 


THE HEROES 


of the grove which grew in the temple-yard. And 
she led him to a tall plane-tree, beneath whose 
shade grew arbutus, and lentisk, and purple 
heather-bushes. And there she sighed, and said, 
“Theseus, my son, go into that thicket, and you 
will find at the plane-tree foot a great flat stone ; 
lift it, and bring me what lies underneath.” 

Then Theseus pushed his way in through the 
thick bushes, and saw that they had not been 
io moved for many a year. And searching among 
their roots he found a great flat stone, all over- 
grown with ivy, and acanthus, and moss. He tried 
to lift it, but he could not. And he tried till the 
sweat ran down his brow from heat, and the tears 
from his eyes for shame ; but all was of no avail. 
And at last he came back to his mother, and said, 
“ I have found the stone, but I cannot lift it ; nor 
do I think that any man could in all Troezene.” 

Then she sighed, and said, “The Gods wait 
20 long; but they are just at last. Let it be for 
another year. The day may come when you will 
be a stronger man than lives in all Troezene.” 

Then she took him by the hand, and went into 


THESEUS 


189 


the temple and prayed, and came down again 
with Theseus to her home. 

And when a full year was past she led Theseus 
up again to the Temple, and bade him lift the 
stone ; but he could not. 

Then she sighed, and said the same words again, 
and went down, and came again the next year ; but 
Theseus could not lift the stone then, nor the year 
after ; and he longed to ask his mother the meaning 
of that stone, and what might lie underneath it; but io 
her face was so sad that he had not the heart to ask. 

So he said to himself, “ The day shall surely 
come when I will lift that stone, though no man 
in Troezene can.” And in order to grow strong 
he spent all his days in wrestling, and boxing, and 
hurling, and taming horses, and hunting the boar 
and the bull, and coursing goats and deer among 
the rocks ; till upon all the mountains there was 
no hunter so swift as Theseus ; and he killed 
Phaia the wild sow of Crommyon, which wasted 20 
all the land ; till all the people said, “ Surely the 
Gods are with the lad.” 

Phai'a (fe'a). 


Crom'my-on. 


190 


THE HEROES 


And when his eighteenth year was past, Aithra 
led him up again to the temple, and said, “ Theseus, 
lift the stone this day, or never know who you are.” 
And Theseus went into the thicket, and stood 
over the stone, and tugged at it ; and it moved. 
Then his spirit swelled within him, and he said, 
“If I break my heart in my body, it shall up.” 
And he tugged at it once more, and lifted it, and 
rolled it over with a shout, 
io And when he looked beneath it, on the ground 
lay a sword of bronze, with a hilt of glittering gold, 
and by it a pair of golden sandals ; and he caught 
them up, and burst through the bushes like a wild 
boar, and leapt to his mother, holding them high 
above his head. 

But when she saw them she wept long in 
silence, hiding her fair face in her shawl ; and 
Theseus stood by her wondering, and wept also, 
he knew not why. And when she was tired of 
20 weeping she lifted up her head, and laid her 
finger on her lips, and said, “ Hide them in your 
bosom, Theseus my son, and come with me where 
we can look down upon the sea.” 


THESEUS 


191 


Then they went outside the sacred wall, and 
looked down over the bright blue sea ; and Aithra 
said — 

“ Do you see this land at our feet? ” 

And he said, “Yes ; this is Troezene, where I 
was born and bred.” 

And she said, “ It is but a little land, barren 
and rocky, and looks toward the bleak north-east. 
Do you see that land beyond ? ” 

“ Yes ; that is Attica, where the Athenian people io 
dwell.” 

“ That is a fair land and large, Theseus my son ; 
and it looks toward the sunny south; a land of 
olive-oil and honey, the joy of Gods and men. 
For the Gods have girdled it with mountains, 
whose veins are of pure silver, and their bones of 
marble white as snow ; and there the hills are 
sweet with thyme and basil, and the meadows with 
violet and asphodel, and the nightingales sing all 
day in the thickets, by the side of ever flowing 20 
streams. There are twelve towns well peopled, 
the homes of an ancient race, the children of 


At'ti-ca. 


192 


THE HEROES 


Kekrops the serpent-king, the son of Mother 
Earth, who wear gold cicalas among the tresses of 
their golden hair ; for like the cicalas they sprang 
from the earth, and like the cicalas they sing all 
day, rejoicing in the genial sun. What would 
you do, son Theseus, if you were king of such a 
land?” 

Then Theseus stood astonished, as he looked 
across the broad bright sea, and saw the fair Attic 
io shore, from Sunium to Hymettus and Pentelicus, 
and all the mountain peaks which girdle Athens 
round. But Athens itself he could not see, for 
purple ^Egina stood before it, midway across the 
sea. 

Then his heart grew great within him, and 
he said, “If I were king of such a land I would 
rule it wisely and well in wisdom and in might, 
that when I died all men might weep over my 
tomb, and cry, ‘ Alas for the shepherd of his 
20 people ! ’ ” 

And Aithra smiled, and said, “ Take, then, the 
sword and the sandals, and go to JEgeus, king of 
Ke'krops. Hy-met'tus. Pen-tel'i-cus. iE-gi'na. iE'geus. 


THESEUS 


193 


Athens, who lives on Pallas’ hill ; and say to him, 
‘The stone is lifted, but whose is the pledge 
beneath it ? ’ Then show him the sword and 
the sandals, and take what the Gods shall 
send.” 

But Theseus wept, “ Shall I leave you, O my 
mother? ” 

But she answered, “Weep not for me. That 
which is fated must be ; and grief is easy to those 
who do nought but grieve. Full of sorrow was my io 
youth, and full of sorrow my womanhood. Full 
of sorrow was my youth for Bellerophon, the slayer 
of the Chimsera, whom my father drove away by 
treason ; and full of sorrow my womanhood, for thy 
treacherous father and for thee; and full of sorrow 
my old age will be (for I see my fate in dreams), 
when the sons of the Swan shall carry me captive 
to the hollow vale of Eurotas, till I sail across the 
seas a slave, the handmaid of the pest of Greece. 
Yet shall I be avenged, when the golden-haired 20 
heroes sail against Troy, and sack the palaces of 
Ilium ; then my son shall set me free from thral- 
Bel-ler'o-phon. Chi-mae'ra. Eu-ro'tas. 


o 


194 


THE HEROES 


dom, and I shall hear the tale of Theseus’ fame. 
Yet beyond that I see new sorrows ; but I can 
bear them as I have borne the past.” 

Then she kissed Theseus, and wept over him ; 
and went into the temple, and Theseus saw her 
no more. 


PART II 


HOW THESEUS SLEW THE DEVOURERS OF MEN 

oo Theseus stood there alone, with his mind 
full of many hopes. And first he thought of going 
down to the harbour and hiring a swift ship, 
and sailing across the bay to Athens ; but even 
that seemed too slow for him, and he longed for 
wings to fly across the sea, and find his father. 
But after awhile his heart began to fail him ; and 
he sighed, and said within himself — 

“ What if my father have other sons about him 
whom he loves ? What if he will not receive me ? io 
And what have I done that he should receive me ? 
He has forgotten me ever since I was born : why 
should he welcome me now ? ” 

Then he thought a long while sadly ; and at the 
last he cried aloud, “ Yes ! I will make him love 
me ; for I will prove myself worthy of his love. I 
will win honour and renown, and do such deeds 
195 


196 


THE HEROES 


that HSgeus shall be proud of me, though he had 
fifty other sons ! Did not Heracles win himself 
honour, though he was opprest, and the slave of 
Eurystheus ? Did he not kill all robbers and evil 
beasts, and drain great lakes and marshes, break- 
ing the hills through with his club ? Therefore it 
was that all men honoured him, because he rid 
them of their miseries, and made life pleasant to 
them and their children after them. Where can I 
iogo, to do as Heracles has done ? Where can I find 
strange adventures, robbers, and monsters, and the 
children of hell, the enemies of men ? I will go 
by land, and into the mountains, and round by the 
way of the Isthmus. Perhaps there I may hear 
of brave adventures, and do something which 
shall win my- father’s love.” 

So he went by land, and away into the moun- 
tains, with his father’s sword upon his thigh, till 
he came to the Spider Mountains, which hang over 
20 Epida,urus and the sea, where the glens run down- 
ward from one peak in the midst, as the rays spread 
in the spider’s web. 

Eu-rys'theus. Ep-i-dau'rus. 


THESEUS 


197 


And he went up into the gloomy glens, between 
the furrowed marble walls, till the lowland grew 
blue beneath his feet and the clouds drove damp 
about his head. 

But he went up and up for ever, through the 
spider’s web of glens, till he could see the narrow 
gulfs spread below him, north and south, and east 
and west ; black cracks half-choked with mists, 
and above all a dreary down. 

But over that down he must go, for there was io 
no road right or left ; so he toiled on through bog 
and brake, till he came to a pile of stones. 

And on the stones a man was sitting, wrapt in a 
bear-skin cloak. The head of the bear served him 
for a cap, and its teeth grinned white around his 
brows ; and the feet were tied about his throat, 
and their claws shone white upon his chest. And 
when he saw Theseus he rose, and laughed till the 
glens rattled. 

“ And who art thou, fair fly, who hast walked into 20 
the spider’s web ? ” But Theseus walked on steadily, 
and made no answer ; but he thought, “ Is this 
some robber ? and has an adventure come already 


198 


THE HEROES 


to me ? ” But the strange man laughed louder than 
ever, and said — 

“Bold fly, know you not that these glens are 
the web from which no fly ever finds his way out 
again, and this down the spider’s house, and I the 
spider who sucks the flies ? Come hither, and let 
me feast upon you ; for it is of no use to run away, 
so cunning a web has my father Hephaistos spread 
for me when he made these clefts in the moun- 
io tains, through which no man finds his way home.” 
But Theseus came on steadily, and asked — 

“ And what is your name among men, bold spi- 
der ? and where your spider’s fangs ? ” 

Then the strange man laughed again — 

“ My name is Periphetes, the son of Hephaistos 
and Anticleia the mountain nymph. But men 
call me Corynetes the club-bearer ; and here is 
my spider’s fang.” 

And he lifted from off the stones at his side a 
20 mighty club of bronze. 

“ This my father gave me, and forged it himself 
in the roots of the mountain ; and with it I pound 
Per-i-phe'tes. An-ti-clei'a. Cor-y-ne'tes. 


THESEUS 


199 


all proud flies till they give out their fatness and 
their sweetness. So give me up that gay sword 
of yours, and your mantle, and your golden san- 
dals, lest I pound you, and by ill-luck you die.” 

But Theseus wrapped his mantle round his left 
arm quickly, in hard folds, from his shoulder to 
his hand, and drew his sword, and rushed upon 
the club-bearer, and the club-bearer rushed on 
him. 

Thrice he struck at Theseus, and made him io 
bend under the blows like a sapling; but Theseus 
guarded his head with his left arm, and the man- 
tle which was wrapt around it. 

And thrice Theseus sprang upright after the 
blow, like a sapling when the storm is past ; and 
he stabbed at the club-bearer with his sword, but 
the loose folds of the bear-skin saved him. 

Then Theseus grew mad, and closed with him, 
and caught him by the throat, and they fell and 
rolled over together ; but when Theseus rose up 20 
from the ground the club-bearer lay still at his 
feet. 

Then Theseus took his club and his bear-skin, 


200 


THE HEROES 


and left him to the kites and crows, and went 
upon his journey down the glens on the farther 
slope, till he came to a broad green valley, and 
saw flocks and herds sleeping beneath the trees. 

And by the side of a pleasant fountain, under 
the shade of rocks and trees, were nymphs and 
shepherds dancing ; but no one piped to them 
while they danced. 

And when they saw Theseus they shrieked ; 
io and the shepherds ran off, and drove away their 
flocks, while the nymphs dived into the fountain 
like coots, and vanished. 

Theseus wondered and laughed : “ What strange 
fancies have folks here who run away from stran- 
gers, and have no music when they dance ! ” But 
he was tired, and dusty, and thirsty ; so he thought 
no more of them, but drank and bathed in the 
clear pool, and then lay down in the shade under 
a plane tree, while the water sang him to sleep, as 
20 it tinkled down from stone to stone. 

And when he woke he heard a whispering, and 
saw the nymphs peeping at him across the fountain 
from the dark mouth of a cave, where they sat on 


THESEUS 


201 


green cushions of moss. And one said, “Surely 
he is not Periphetes ; ” and another, “ He looks 
like no robber, but a fair and gentle youth.” 

Then Theseus smiled, and called them, “ Fair 
nymphs, I am not Periphetes. He sleeps among 
the kites and crows ; but I have brought away 
his bear-skin and his club.” 

Then they leapt across the pool, and came to 
him, and called the shepherds back. And he 
told them how he had slain the club-bearer : and io 
the shepherds kissed his feet and sang, “Now we 
shall feed our flocks in peace, and not be afraid to 
have music when we dance ; for the cruel club- 
bearer has met his match, and he will listen for 
our pipes no more.” 

Then they brought him kid’s flesh and wine, 
and the nymphs brought him honey from the rocks, 
and he ate, and drank, and slept again, while the 
nymphs and shepherds danced and sang. And 
when he woke, they begged him to stay ; but he 20 
would not. “ I have a great work to do,” he said ; 

“ I must be away toward the Isthmus, that I may 
go to Athens.” 


202 


THE HEROES 


But the shepherds said, “Will you go alone 
toward Athens ? None travel that way now, except 
in armed troops.” 

“ As for arms, I have enough, as you see. And 
as for troops, an honest man is good enough com- 
pany for himself. Why should I not go alone 
toward Athens? ” 

“ If you do, you must look warily about you on 
the Isthmus, lest you meet Sinis the robber, whom 
iomen call Pituocamptes the pine-bender; for he 
bends down two pine trees, and binds all travellers 
hand and foot between them, and when he lets the 
trees go again their bodies are torn in sunder.” 

“ And after that,” said another, “ you must go 
inland, and not dare to pass over the cliffs of 
Sciron; for on the left hand are the mountains, 
and on the right the sea, so that you have no 
escape, but must needs meet Sciron the robber, 
who will make you wash his feet : and while you 
20 are washing them he will kick you over the cliff, 
to the tortoise who lives below, and feeds upon 
the bodies of the dead.” 


Si'nis. 


Pit-u-o-camp'tes. 


THESEUS 


203 


And before Theseus could answer, another cried, 

“ And after that is a worse danger still, unless 
you go inland always, and leave Eleusis far on 
your . right. For in Eleusis rules Kerkuon the 
cruel king, the terror of all mortals, who killed 
his own daughter Alope in prison. But she was 
changed into a fair fountain ; and her child he 
cast out upon the mountains, but the wild mares 
gave it milk. And now he challenges all comers 
to wrestle with him, for he is the best wrestler io 
in all Attica, and overthrows all who come; and 
those whom he overthrows he murders miserably, 
and his palace-court is full of their bones.” 

Then Theseus frowned, and said, “ This seems 
indeed an ill-ruled land, and adventures enough in 
it to be tried. But if I am the heir of it, I will 
rule it and right it, and here is my royal sceptre.” 
And he shook his club of bronze, while the nymphs 
and shepherds clung round him, and entreated him 
not to go. 20 

But on he went nevertheless, till he could see 
both the seas and the citadel of Corinth towering 
E-leu'sis. Ker'ku-on. Al'o-pe. 


204 


THE HEROES 


high above all the land. And he past swiftly along 
the Isthmus, for his heart burned to meet that cruel 
Sinis ; and in a pine- wood at last he met him, 
where the Isthmus was narrowest and the ro^d ran 
between high rocks. There he sat upon a stone 
by the wayside, with a young fir tree for a club 
across his knees, and a cord laid ready by his side ; 
and over his head, upon the fir-tops, hung the 
bones of murdered men. 

io Then Theseus shouted to him, “ Holla, thou 
valiant pine-bender, hast thou two fir trees left 
for me?” 

And Sinis leapt to his feet, and answered, point- 
ing to the bones above his head, “ My larder has 
grown empty lately, so I have two fir trees ready 
for thee.” And he rushed on Theseus, lifting his 
club, and Theseus rushed upon him. 

Then they hammered together till the green- 
woods rang ; but the metal was tougher than the 
20 pine, and Sinis’ club broke right across, as the 
bronze came down upon it. Then Theseus heaved 
up another mighty stroke, and smote Sinis down 
upon his face; and knelt upon his back, and 


THESEUS 


205 


bound him with his own cord, and said, “ As thou 
hast done to others, so shall it be done to thee.” 
Then he bent down two young fir trees, and bound 
Sinis between them, for all his struggling and his 
prayers ; and let them go, and ended Sinis, and 
went on, leaving him to the hawks and crows. 

Then he went over the hills toward Megara, 
keeping close along the Saronic Sea, till he came 
to the cliffs of Sciron, and the narrow path between 
the mountain and the sea. io 

And there he saw Sciron sitting by a fountain, 
at the edge of the cliff. On his knees was a 
mighty club ; and he had barred the path with 
stones, so that every one must stop who came up. 

Then Theseus shouted to him, and said, “Holla, 
thou tortoise-feeder, do thy feet need washing 
to-day? ” 

And Sciron leapt to his feet, and answered — 

“ My tortoise is empty and hungry, and my feet 
need washing to-day.” And he stood before his 20 
barrier, and lifted up his club in both hands. 

Then Theseus rushed upon him ; and sore was 
Meg'a-ra. Sa-ron'ic. 


206 


THE HEROES 


the battle upon the cliff, for when Sciron felt the 
weight of the bronze club, he dropt his own, and 
closed with Theseus, and tried to hurl him by main 
force over the cliff. But Theseus was a wary 
wrestler, and dropt his own club, and caught him 
by the throat and by the knee, and forced him 
back against the wall of stones, and crushed 
him up against them, till his breath was almost 
gone. And Sciron cried panting, u Loose me, and 
io I will let thee pass.” But Theseus answered, “I 
must not pass till I have made the rough way 
smooth ; ” and forced him back against the wall 
till it fell, and Sciron rolled head over heels. 

Then Theseus lifted him up all bruised, and 
said, “Come hither and wash my feet.” And he 
drew his sword, and sat down by the well, and 
said, “Wash my feet, or I cut you piecemeal.” 

And Sciron washed his feet trembling; and when 
it was done, Theseus rose, and cried, “As thou 
20 hast done to others, so shall it be done to thee. 
Go feed thy tortoise thyself ; ” and he kicked him 
over the cliff into the sea. 

And whether the tortoise ate him, I know not ; 


THESEUS 


207 


for some say that earth and sea both disdained to 
take his body, so foul it was with sin. So the sea 
cast it out upon the shore, and the shore cast it 
back into the sea, and at last the waves hurled it 
high into the air in anger ; and it hung there long 
without a grave, till it was changed into a desolate 
rock, which stands there in the surge until this 
day. 

This at least is true, which Pausanias tells, that 
in the royal porch at Athens he saw the figure of io 
Theseus modelled in clay, and by him Sciron the 
robber falling headlong into the sea. 

Then he went a long day’s journey, past Meg- 
ara, into the Attic land, and high before him rose 
the snow-peaks of Cithgeron, all cold above the 
black pine woods, where haunt the Furies, and the 
raving Bacchse, and the Nymphs who drive men 
wild, far aloft upon the dreary mountains, where 
the storms howl all day long. And on his right 
hand was the sea always, and Salamis, with its 20 
island cliffs, and the sacred strait of the sea-fight, 
where afterwards the Persians fled before the 
Ci-thae'ron. Bac'chae. Sal'a-mis. 


208 


THE HEROES 


Greeks. So he went all day until the evening, till 
he saw the Thriasian plain, and the sacred city of 
Eleusis, where the Earth-mother’s temple stands. 
For there she met Triptolemus, when all the land 
lay waste, Demeter the kind Earth-mother, and in 
her hands a sheaf of corn. And she taught him to 
plough the fallows, and to yoke the lazy kine ; and 
she taught him to sow the seed-fields, and to reap 
the golden grain ; and sent him forth to teach all 
nations, and give corn to labouring men. So at 
Eleusis all men honour her, whosoever tills the 
land ; her and Triptolemus her beloved, who gave 
corn to labouring men. 

And he went along the plain into Eleusis, and 
stood in the market-place, and cried — 

“ Where is Kerkuon, the king of the city ? I 
must wrestle a fall with him to-day.” 

Then all the people crowded round him, and 
cried, “Fair youth, why will you die? Hasten 
20 out of the city, before the cruel king hears that a 
stranger is here.” 

But Theseus went up through the town, while 
Thri-a'si-an (zhi-an). Trip-tol'e-mus. De-me'ter. 


THESEUS 


209 


the people wept and prayed, and through the 
gates of the palace-yard, and through the piles of 
bones and skulls, till he came to the door of 
Kerkuon’s hall, the terror of all mortal men. 

And there he saw Kerkuon sitting at the table 
in the hall alone; and before him was a whole 
sheep roasted, and beside him a whole jar of wine. 
And Theseus stood and called him, “ Holla, thou 
valiant wrestler, wilt thou wrestle a fall to-day ? ” 

And Kerkuon looked up and laughed, and io 
answered, “ I will wrestle a fall to-day ; but come 
in, for I am lonely and thou weary, and eat and 
drink before thou die.” 

Then Theseus went up boldly, and sat down 
before Kerkuon at the board : and he ate his fill 
of the sheep’s flesh, and drank his fill of the wine; 
and Theseus ate enough for three men, but Ker- 
kuon ate enough for seven. 

But neither spoke a word to the other, though 
they looked across the table by stealth ; and each 20 
said in his heart, “ He has broad shoulders ; but I 
trust mine are as broad as his.” 

At last, when the sheep was eaten and the jar 


210 


THE HEROES 


of wine drained dry, King Kerkuon rose, and 
cried, “ Let us wrestle a fall before we sleep.” 

So they tossed off all their garments, and went 
forth in the palace-} 7 ard ; and Kerkuon bade strew 
fresh sand in an open space between the bones. 
And there the heroes stood face to face, while 
their eyes glared like wild bulls’ ; and all the 
people crowded at the gates to see what would 
befall. 

io And there they stood and wrestled, till the stars 
shone out above their heads ; up and down and 
round, till the sand was stamped hard beneath 
their feet. And their eyes flashed like stars in the 
darkness, and their breath went up like smoke in 
the night air ; but neither took nor gave a footstep, 
and the people watched silent at the gates. 

But at last Kerkuon grew angry, and caught 
Theseus round the neck, and shook him as a 
mastiff shakes a rat ; but he could not shake him 
20 off his feet. 

But Theseus was quick and wary, and clasped 
Kerkuon round the waist, and slipped his loin 
quickly underneath him, while he caught him by 


THESEUS 


211 


the wrist ; and then he hove a mighty heave, a 
heave which would have stirred an oak, and lifted 
Kerkuon, and pitched him right over his shoulder 
on the ground. 

Then he leapt on him, and called, “ Yield, or I 
kill thee ! ” but Kerkuon said no word ; for his 
heart was burst within him with the fall, and the 
meat, and the wine. 

Then Theseus opened the gates, and called in all 
the people; and they cried, “You have slain ouno 
evil king ; be you now our king, and rule us well.” 

“ I will be your king in Eleusis, and I will rule 
you right and well ; for this cause I have slain all 
evil-doers — Sinis, and Sciron, and this man last 
of all.” 

Then an aged man stepped forth, and said, 

“ Young hero, hast thou slain Sinis ? Beware then 
of ^Egeus, king of Athens, to whom thou goest, 
for he is near of kin to Sinis.” 

“ Then I have slain my own kinsman,” said 20 
Theseus, “ though well he deserved to die. Who 
will purge me from his death, for rightfully I slew 
him, unrighteous and accursed as he was ? ” 


212 


THE HEROES 


And the old man answered — 

“ That will the heroes do, the sons of Phy talus, 
who dwell beneath the elm-tree in Aphidnai, by 
the bank of silver Cephisus ; for they know the 
mysteries of the Gods. Thither you shall go 
and be purified, and after you shall be our 
king.” 

So he took an oath of the people of Eleusis, that 
they would serve him as their king, and went 
io away next morning across the Thriasian plain, and 
over the hills toward Aphidnai, that he might find 
the sons of Phytalus. 

And as he was skirting the Vale of Cephisus, 
along the foot of lofty Parnes, a very tall and 
strong man came down to meet him, dressed in 
rich garments. On his arms were golden bracelets, 
and round his neck a collar of jewels ; and he 
came forward, bowing courteously, and held out 
both his hands, and spoke — 

20 “Welcome, fair youth, to these mountains; 
happy am I to have met you ! For what greater 
pleasure to a good man, than to entertain stran- 
Phyt/a-lus. A-phid'nai. Ce-plii'sus. 


THESEUS 


213 


gers ? But I see that you are weary. Come up 
to my castle, and rest yourself awhile.” 

“ I give you thanks,” said Theseus : “ but I am 
in haste to go up the valley, and to reach Aphidnai 
in the Vale of Cephisus.” 

“ Alas ! you have wandered far from the right 
way, and yon cannot reach Aphidnai to-night, for 
there are many miles of mountain between you 
and it, and steep passes, and cliffs dangerous after 
nightfall. It is well for you that I met you, for io 
my whole joy is to find strangers, and to feast 
them at my castle, and hear tales from them of 
foreign lands. Come up. with me, and eat the 
best of venison, and drink the rich red wine, and 
•sleep upon my famous bed, of which all travellers 
say that they never saw the like. For whatsoever 
the stature of my guest, however tall or short, 
that bed fits him to a hair, and he sleeps on it 
as he never slept before.” And he laid hold on 
Theseus’ hands, and would not let him go. 20 

Theseus wished to go forwards : but he was 
ashamed to seem churlish to so hospitable a man ; 
and he was curious to see that wondrous bed; and 


214 


THE HEROES 


beside, he was hungry and weary : yet he shrank 
from the man, he knew not why ; for, though his 
voice was gentle and fawning, it was dry and husky 
like a toad’s ; and though his eyes were gentle, 
they were dull and cold like stones. But he con- 
sented, and went with the man up a glen which 
led from the road toward the peaks of Parnes, 
under the dark shadow of the cliffs. 

And as they went up, the glen grew narrower, 
io and the cliffs higher and darker, and beneath them 
a torrent roared, half seen between bare limestone 
crags. And around them was neither tree nor 
bush, while from the white peaks of Parnes the 
snow-blasts swept down the glen, cutting and 
chilling, till a horror fell on Theseus as he looked 
round at that doleful place. And he asked at 
last, “ Your castle stands, it seems, in a dreary 
region.” 

“ Yes; but once within it, hospitality makes all 
20 things cheerful. But who are these ? ” and he 
looked back, and Theseus also ; and far below, 
along the road which they had left, came a string 
of laden asses, and merchants walking by them, 
watching their ware. 


THESEUS 


215 


“Ah, poor souls !” said the stranger. “Well 
for them that I looked back and saw them ! And 
well for me too, for I shall have the more guests 
at my feast. W ait awhile till I go down and call 
them, and we will eat and drink together the live- 
long night. Happy am I, to whom Heaven sends 
so many guests at once ! ” 

And he ran back down the hill, waving his 
hand and shouting to the merchants, while 
Theseus went slowly up the steep pass. ™ 

But as he went up he met an aged man, who 
had been gathering driftwood in the torrent-bed. 
He had laid down his faggot in the road, and was 
trying to lift it again to his shoulder. And when 
he saw Theseus, he called to him, and said — 

“ O fair youth, help me up with my burden, for 
my limbs are stiff and Weak with years.” 

Then Theseus lifted the burden on his back. 
And the old man blest him, and then looked 
earnestly upon him, and said — 20 

“ Who are you, fair youth, and wherefore travel 
you this doleful road ? ” 

“ Who I am my parents know ; but I travel this 


216 


THE HEROES 


doleful road because I have been invited by a 
hospitable man, who promises to feast me, and to 
make me sleep upon I know not what wondrous 
bed.” 

Then the old man clapped his hands together 
and cried — 

' “ O house of Hades, man-devouring ! will thy 
maw never be full ? Know, fair youth, that you 
are going to torment and to death, for he who 
io met you (I will requite your kindness by another) 
is a robber and a murderer of men. Whatsoever 
stranger he meets he entices him hither to death ; 
and as for this bed of which he speaks, truly it fits 
all comers, yet none ever rose alive off it* save me.” 

“ Why ? ” asked Theseus, astonished. 

“ Because, if a man be too tall for it, he lops his 
limbs till they be short enough, and if he be too 
short, he stretches his limbs till they be long 
enough; but me only he spared, seven weary 
20 years agone ; for I alone of all fitted his bed 
exactly, so he spared me, and made me his slave. 
And once I was a wealthy merchant, and dwelt in 
brazen -gated Thebes ; but now I hew wood and 


THESEUS 


217 


draw water for him, the torment of all mortal 
men.” 

Then Theseus said nothing ; but he ground his 
teeth together. 

44 Escape, then,” said the old man, “ for he will 
have no pity on thy youth. He is called Pro- 
crustes the stretcher, though his father called him 
Damastes. Flee from him : yet whither will you 
flee ? The cliffs are steep, and who can climb 
them? and there is no other road.” io 

But Theseus laid his hand upon the old man’s 
mouth, and said, 44 There is no need to flee ; ” and 
he turned to go down the pass. 

44 Do not tell him that I have warned you, or he 
will kill me by some evil death ; ” and the old man 
screamed after him down the glen ; but Theseus 
strode on in his wrath. 

And he said to himself, 44 This is an ill-ruled 
land ; when shall I have done ridding it of mon- 
sters ? ” And as he spoke, Procrustes came up 20 
the hill and all the merchants with him, smiling 
and talking gaily. And when he saw Theseus, he 
Pro-crus'tes. Da-mas'tes. 


218 


THE HEROES 


cried, “Ah, fair young guest, have I kept you too 
long waiting? ” 

But Theseus answered, “The man who stretches 
his guests upon a bed and hews off their hands and 
feet, what shall be done to him, when right is done 
throughout the land ? ” 

Then Procrustes’ countenance changed, and his 
cheeks grew as green as a lizard, and he felt for 
his sword in haste ; but Theseus leapt on him, 
io and cried — 

“ Is this true, my host, or is it false ? ” and he 
clasped Procrustes round waist and elbow, so that 
he could not draw his sword. 

“ Is this true, my host, or is it false ? ” But 
Procrustes answered never a word. 

Then Theseus flung him from him, and lifted 
up his dreadful club ; and before Procrustes could 
strike him he had struck, and felled him to the 
ground. 

20 And once again he struck him ; and his evil 
soul fled forth, and went down to Hades squeak- 
ing, like a bat into the darkness of a cave. 

Then Theseus stript him of his gold ornaments, 


THESEUS 


219 


and went up to his house, and found there great 
wealth and treasure, which he had stolen from 
the passers-by. And he called the people of the 
country, whom Procrustes had spoiled a long time, 
and parted the spoil among them, and went down 
the mountains, and away. 

And he went down the glens of Parnes, through 
mist, and cloud, and rain, down the slopes of oak, 
and lentisk, and arbutus, and fragrant bay, till he 
came to the Vale of Cephisus, and the pleasant io 
town of Aphidnai, and the home of the Phytalid 
heroes, where they dwelt beneath a mighty elm. 

And there they built an altar, and bade him 
bathe in Cephisus, and offer a yearling ram, and 
purified him from the blood of Sinis, and sent 
him away in peace. 

And he went down the valley by Acharnai, and 
by the silver-swirling stream, while all the people 
blessed him, for the fame of his prowess had 
spread wide, till he saw the plain of Athens, and 2 o 
the hill where Athene dwells. 

So Theseus went up through Athens, and all 
Par'nes. Phy-tal'id. A-chaPnai. 


220 


THE HEROES 


the people ran out to see him ; for his fame had 
gone before him, and every one knew of his 
mighty deeds. And all cried, “ Here comes the 
hero who slew Sinis, and Phaia the wild sow of 
Crommyon, and conquered Kerkuon in wrestling, 
and slew Procrustes the pitiless.” But Theseus 
went on sadly and steadfastly, for his heart 
yearned after his father ; and he said, “ How 
shall I deliver him from these leeches who suck 
io his blood?” 

So he went up the holy stairs, and into the 
Acropolis, where Aegeus’ palace stood; and he 
went straight into Aegeus’ hall, and stood upon 
the threshold, and looked round. 

And there he saw his cousins sitting about the 
table at the wine : many a son of Pallas, but no 
Aegeus among them. There they sat and feasted, 
and laughed, and passed the wine-cup round ; 
while harpers harped, and slave-girls sang, and 
20 the tumblers showed their tricks. 

, A-crop'o-lis. The citadel of Athens. This rocky hill arose 
abruptly from the surrounding plain. Upon its flat top the 
Parthenon, a temple of Athene, still stands. 

Pal'las. A brother of iE'geus. 


THESEUS 


221 


Loud laughed the sons of Pallas, and fast went 
the wine-cup round ; hut Theseus frowned, and 
said under his breath, “No wonder that the land 
is full of robbers, while such as these bear 
rule.” 

Then the Pallantids saw him, and called to him, 
half-drunk with wine, “ Holla, tall strange!* at the 
door, what is your will to-day? ” 

“ I come hither to ask for hospitality.” 

“Then take it, and welcome. You look like a 10 
hero and a bold warrior; and we like such to 
drink with us.” 

“ I ask no hospitality of you ; I ask it of ACgeus 
the king, the master of this house.” 

At that some growled, and some laughed, and 
shouted, “Heyday! we are all masters here.” 

“ Then I am master as much as the rest of you,” 
said Theseus, and he strode past the table up the 
hall, and looked around for JEgeus ; but he was 
nowhere to be seen. 20 

The Pallantids looked at him, and then at 
each other ; and each whispered to the man next 
Pal-lan'tids. Sons of Pallas. 


222 


THE HEROES 


him, “ This is a forward fellow ; he ought to be 
thrust out at the door.” But each man’s neigh- 
bour whispered in return, “ His shoulders are 
broad; will you rise and put him out? ” So they 
all sat still where they were. ' 

Then Theseus called to the servants, and said, 
“ Go tell King iEgeus, your master, that Theseus 
of Troezene is here, and asks to be his guest 
awhile.” 

10 A servant ran and told Aegeus, where he sat 
in his chamber within, by Medeia the dark witch- 
woman, watching her eye and hand. And when 
ASgeus heard of Troezene he turned pale and red 
again, and rose from his seat trembling, while 
Medeia watched him like a snake. 

“What is Troezene to you?” she asked. But 
he said hastily, “ Do you not know who this 
Theseus is ? The hero who has cleared the 
country from all monsters; but that he came 
20 from Troezene, I never heard before. I must go 
out and welcome him.” 

So iEgeus came out into the hall; and when 
Theseus saw him, his heart leapt into his mouth, 


THESEUS 


223 


and he longed to fall on his neck and welcome 
him; but he controlled himself, and said, “My 
father may not wish for me, after all. I will try 
him before I discover myself ; ” and he bowed low 
before Aegeus, and said, “ I have delivered the 
king’s realm from many monsters ; therefore I 
am come to ask a reward of the king.” 

And old iEgeus looked on him, and loved him, 
as what fond heart would not have done? But he 
only sighed, and said — • io 

“ It is little that I can give you, noble lad, and 
nothing that is worthy of you ; for surely you are 
no mortal man, or at least no mortal’s son.” 

“All I ask,” said Theseus, “is to eat and drink 
at your table.” 

“ That I can give you,” said iEgeus, “ if at least 
I am master in my own hall.” 

Then he bade them put a seat for Theseus, and 
set before him the best of the feast ; and Theseus 
sat and ate so much, that all the company won- 20 
dered at him : but always he kept his club by 
his side. 

But Medeia the dark witch-woman had been 


224 


THE HEROES 


watching him all the while. She saw how ^Egeus 
turned red and pale when the lad said that he 
came from Troezene. She saw, too, how his 
heart was opened toward Theseus ; and how The- 
seus bore himself before all the sons of Pallas, 
like a lion among a pack of curs. And she said 
to herself, “ This youth will be master here ; 
perhaps he is nearer to Aegeus already than mere 
fancy. At least the Pallantids will have no 
chance by the side of such as he.” 

Then she went back into her chamber modestly, 
while Theseus ate and drank ; and all the servants 
whispered, “ This, then, is the man who killed the 
monsters ! How noble are his looks, and how 
huge his size ! Ah, would that he were our 
master’s son ! ” 

But presently Medeia came forth, decked in all 
her jewels, and her rich Eastern robes, and look- 
ing more beautiful than the day, so that all the 
20 guests could look at nothing else. And in her 
right hand she held a golden cup, and in her left 
a flask of gold ; and she came up to Theseus, and 
spoke in a sweet, soft, winning voice — 


THESEUS 


225 


“ Hail to the hero, the conqueror, the uncon- 
quered, the destroyer of all evil things ! Drink, 
hero, of my charmed cup, which gives rest after 
every toil, which heals all wounds, and pours new 
life into the veins. Drink of my cup, for in it 
sparkles the wine of the East, and Nepenthe, the 
comfort of the Immortals.” 

And as she spoke, she poured the flask into 
the cup ; and the fragrance of the wine spread 
through the hall, like the scent of thyme and io 
roses. 

And Theseus looked up in her fair face and 
into her deep dark eyes. And as he looked, he 
shrank and shuddered ; for they were dry like the 
eyes of a snake. And he rose and said, “The 
wine is rich and fragrant, and the wine-bearer as 
fair as the Immortals ; but let her pledge me first 
herself in the cup, that the wine may be the 
sweeter from her lips.” 

Then Medeia turned pale, and stammered, “ For- 20 
give me, fair hero ; but I am ill, and dare drink 
no wine.” 

And Theseus looked again into her eyes, and 

Q 


226 


THE HEROES 


cried, “ Thou shalt pledge me in that cup, or die.” 
And he lifted up his brazen club, while all the 
guests looked on aghast. 

Medeia shrieked a fearful shriek, and dashed 
the cup to the ground, and fled ; and where the 
wine flowed over the marble pavement, the stone 
bubbled, and crumpled, and hissed, under the 
fierce venom of the draught. 

But Medeia called her dragon chariot, and 
io sprang into it and fled aloft, away over land and 
sea, and no man saw her more. 

And ^Egeus cried, “ What hast thou done ? ” 
But Theseus pointed to the stone, “ I have rid the 
land of an enchantment : now I will rid it of one 
more.” 

And he came close to iEgeus, and drew from 
his bosom the sword and the sandals, and said the 
words which his mother bade him. 

And iEgeus stepped back a pace, and looked 
20 at the lad till his eyes grew dim; and then he 
cast himself on his neck and wept, and Theseus 
wept on his neck, till they had no strength left to 
weep more. 


THESEUS 


227 


Then iEgeus turned to all the people, and cried, 

“ Behold my son, children of Kekrops, a better 
man than his father was before him.” 

Who, then, were mad but the Pallantids, though 
they had been mad enough before? And one 
shouted, “ Shall we make room for an upstart, a 
pretender, who comes from we know not where? ” 
And another, “If he be one, we are more than 
one ; and the stronger can hold his own.” And 
one shouted one thing, and one another ; for they io 
were hot and wild with wine : but all caught 
swords and lances off the wall, where the weapons 
hung around, and sprang forward to Theseus, and 
Theseus sprang forward to them. 

And he cried, “ Go in peace, if you will, my 
cousins ; but if not, your blood be on your own 
heads.” But they rushed at him ; and then 
stopped short and railed him, as curs stop and 
bark when they rouse a lion from his lair. 

But one hurled a lance from the rear rank, 20 
which past close by Theseus’ head ; and at that 
Theseus rushed- forward, and the fight began in- 
deed. Twenty against one they fought, and yet 


228 


THE HEROES 


Theseus beat them all ; and those who were left 
fled down into the town, where the people set on 
them, and drove them out, till Theseus was left 
alone in the palace, with ASgeus his new-found 
father. But before nightfall all the town came 
up, with victims, and dances, and songs ; and they 
offered sacrifices to Athene, and rejoiced all the 
night long, because their king had found a noble 
son, and an heir to his royal house, 
io So Theseus stayed with his father all the win- 
ter ; and when the spring equinox drew near, all 
the Athenians grew sad and silent, and Theseus 
saw it, and asked the reason ; but no one would 
answer him a word. 

Then he went to his father, and asked him : 
but iEgeus turned away his face and wept. 

“Do not ask, my son, beforehand, about evils 
which must happen ; it is enough to have to face 
them when they come.” 

20 And when the spring equinox came, a herald 
came to Athens, and stood in the market, and 
cried, “ O people and king of Athens, where is 
your yearly tribute? ” Then a great lamentation 


THESEUS 


229 


arose throughout the city. But Theseus stood up 
to the herald, and cried — 

u And who are you, dog-faced, who dare de- 
mand tribute here? If I did not reverence your 
herald’s staff, I would brain you with this 
club.” 

And the herald answered proudly, for he was a 
grave and ancient man — 

“ Fair youth, I am not dog-faced or shameless ; 
but I do my master’s bidding, Minos, the king of io 
hundred-citied Crete, the wisest of all kings on 
earth. And you must be surely a stranger here, 
or you would know why I come, and that I come 
by right.” 

“ I am a stranger here. Tell me, then, why 
you come ? ” 

“To fetch the tribute which King ACgeus 
promised to Minos, and confirmed his promise 
with an oath. For Minos conquered all this land, 
and Megara which lies to the east, when he came 20 
hither with a great fleet of ships, enraged about 
the murder of his son. For his son Androgeos came 
An-dro'ge-os. 


230 


THE HEROES 


hither to the Panathenaic games, and overcame 
all the Greeks in the sports, so that the people 
honoured him as a hero. But when Aegeus saw 
his valour, he envied him, and feared lest he 
should join the sons of Pallas, and take away the 
sceptre from him. So he plotted against his life, 
and slew him basely, no man knows how or wdiere. 
Some say that he waylaid him, on the road which 
goes to Thebes; and some that he sent him against 
io the bull of Marathon, that the beast might kill 
him. But iEgeus says that the young men killed 
him from envy, because he had conquered them 
in the games. So Minos came hither and avenged 
him, and would not depart till this land had 
promised him tribute — seven youths and seven 
maidens every year, who go with me in a black- 
sailed ship, till they come to hundred-citied Crete.” 3 
And Theseus ground his teeth together, and j 
said, “Wert thou not a herald I would kill thee 
20 for saying such things of my father ; but I will 
go to him, and know the truth.” So he went to his 


Pan-a-then-a'ic games were celebrated in Athens every fom 
years in honour of Athene. 


THESEUS 


231 


father, and asked him ; but he turned away his 
head and wept, and said, “ Blood was shed in the 
land unjustly, and by blood it is avenged. Break 
not my heart by question ; it is enough to endure 
in silence.” 

Then Theseus groaned inwardly, and said, “ I 
will go myself with these youths and maidens, and 
kill Minos upon his royal throne.” 

And iEgeus shrieked, and cried, “ You shall not 
go, my son, the light of my olci age, to whom io 
alone I look to rule this people after I am dead 
and gone. You shall not go, to die horribly, as 
those youths and maidens die ; for Minos thrusts 
them into a labyrinth, which Daidalos made for 
him among the rocks, — Daidalos the renegade, 
the accursed, the pest of this his native land. 
From that labyrinth no one can escape, entangled 
in its winding ways, before they meet the Mino- 
taur, the monster who feeds upon the flesh of 
men. There he devours them horribly, and they 20 
never see this land again.” 

Then Theseus grew red, and his ears tingled, 
Daid'a-los. 


232 


THE HEROES 


io 


20 


and his heart beat loud in his bosom. And he 
stood awhile like a tall stone pillar on the cliffs 
above some hero’s grave ; and at last he spoke — 

“Therefore all the more I will go with them, 
and slay the accursed beast. Have I not slain all 
evil-doers and monsters, that I might free this 
land ? Where are Periphetes, and Sinis, and 
Kerkuon, and Phaia the wild sow? Where are 
the fifty sons of Pallas ? And this Minotaur shall 
go the road which “they have gone, and Minos 
himself, if he dare stay me.” 

“ But how will you slay him, my son ? For you 
must leave your club and your armour behind, 
and be cast to the monster, defenceless and naked 
like the rest.” 

And Theseus said, “ Are there no stones in 
that labyrinth ; and have I not fists and teeth ? 
Did I need my club to kill Kerkuon, the terror 
of all mortal men?” 

Then JEgeus clung to his knees ; but he would 
not hear ; and at last he let him go, weeping 
bitterly, and said only this one word — 

“ Promise me but this, if you return in peace, 


THESEUS 


233 


though that may hardly be : take down the black 
sail of the ship (for I shall watch for it all day 
upon the cliffs), and hoist instead a white sail, 
that I may know afar off that you are safe.” 

And Theseus promised, and went out, and to 
the market-place where the herald stood, while 
they drew lots for the youths and maidens, who 
were to sail in that doleful crew. And the people 
stood wailing and weeping, as the lot fell on this 
one and on that ; but Theseus strode into the io 
midst, and cried — 

“ Here is a youth who needs no lot. I myself 
will be one of the seven.” 

And the herald asked in wonder, “ Fair youth, 
know you whither you are going ? ” 

And Theseus said, “ I know. Let us go down 
to the black-sailed ship.” 

So they went down to the black-sailed ship, seven 
maidens, and seven youths, and Theseus before 
them all, and the people following them lament- 2 o 
ing. But Theseus whispered to his companions, 

“ Have hope, for the monster is not immortal. 
Where are Periphetes, and Sinis, and Sciron, and 


234 


THE HEROES 


all whom I have slain ? ” Then their hearts were 
comforted a little ; but they wept as they went on 
board, and the cliffs of Sunium rang, and all the 
isles of the ^Egean Sea, with the voice of their 
lamentation, as they sailed on toward their deaths 
in Crete. 


PART III 


HOW THESEUS SLEW THE MINOTAUR 

And at last they came to Crete, and to Cnossus, 
beneath the peaks of Ida, and to the palace of 
Minos the great king, to whom Zeus himself 
taught laws. So he was the wisest of all mortal 
kings, and conquered all the Aegean isles ; and his 
ships were as many as the sea-gulls, and his palace 
like a marble hill. And he sat among the pillars 
of the hall, upon his throne of beaten gold, and 
around him stood the speaking statues which Dai- io 
dalos had made by his skill. For Daidalos was 
the most cunning of all Athenians, and he first 
invented the plumb-line, and the auger, and glue, 
and many a tool with which wood is wrought. 
And he first set up masts in ships, and yards, 
and his son made sails for them : but Perdix his 

Cnos'sus (no'sus). Per'dix. 

235 


236 


THE HEROES 


nephew excelled him ; for he first invented the 
saw and its teeth, copying it from the back-bone 
of a fish ; and invented, too, the chisel, and the 
compasses, and the potter’s wheel which moulds 
the clay. Therefore Daidalos envied him, and 
hurled him headlong from the temple of Athene ; 
but the Goddess pitied him (for she loves the 
wise), and changed him into a partridge, which 
flits for ever about the hills. And Daidalos fled 
to Crete, to Minos, and worked for him many a 
year, till he did a shameful deed, at which the sun 
hid his face on high. 

Then he fled from the anger of Minos, he and 
Icaros his son, having made themselves wings of 
feathers, and fixed the feathers with wax. So 
they flew over the sea toward Sicily ; but Icaros 
flew too near the sun ; and the wax of his wings 
was melted, and he fell into the Icarian Sea. But 
Daidalos came safe to Sicily, and there wrought 
20 many a wondrous work ; for he made for King 
Cocalos a reservoir, from which a great river 
watered all the land, and a castle and a treasury 
Ic'a-ros. I-ca'ri-an. Coc'a-los. 


THESEUS 


237 


on a mountain, which the giants themselves could 
not have stormed ; and in Selinos he took the 
steam which comes up from the fires of ^Etna, 
and made of it a warm bath of vapour, to cure the 
pains of mortal men ; and he made a honeycomb 
of gold, in which the bees came and stored their 
honey, and in Egypt he made the forecourt of the 
temple of Hephaistos in Memphis, and a statue 
of himself within it, and many another wondrous 
work. And for Minos he made statues which 10 
spoke and moved, and the temple of Britomartis, 
and the dancing-hall of Ariadne, which he carved 
of fair white stone. And in Sardinia he worked 
for Iolaos, and in many a land beside, wandering 
up and down for ever with his cunning, unlovely 
and accursed by men. 

But Theseus stood before Minos, and they 
looked each other in the face. And Minos bade 
take them to prison, and cast them to the monster 
one by one, that the death of Androgeos might 20 
be avenged. Then Theseus cried — 

“ A boon, O Minos ! Let me be thrown first to 
Se-li'nos. Brit-o-mar'tis. A-ri-ad'ne. I-o-la'os. 


238 


THE HEROES 


the beast. For I came hither for that very pur- 
pose, of my own will, and not by lot.” 

“ Who art thou, then, brave youth ? ” 

“ I am the son of him whom of all men thou 
hatest most, iEgeus the king of Athens, and I am 
come here to end this matter.” 

And Minos pondered awhile, looking steadfastly 
at him, and he thought, “ The lad means to atone 
by his own death for his father’s sin ; ” and he 
io answered at last mildly — 

“ Go back in peace, my son. It is a pity that 
one so brave should die.” 

But Theseus said, “ I have sworn that I will not 
go back till I have seen the monster face to face.” 

And at that Minos frowned, and said, “ Then 
thou shalt see him ; take the madman away.” 

And they led Theseus away into the prison, 
with the other youths and maids. 

But Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, saw him, as she 
20 came out of her white stone hall ; and she loved 
him for his courage and his majesty, and said, 
64 Shame that such a youth should die ! ” And by 
night she went down to the prison, and told him 
all her heart ; and said — 


THESEUS 


.239 


“Flee down to your ship at once, for I have 
bribed the guards before the door. Flee, you and 
all your friends, and go back in peace to Greece ; 
and take me, take me with you ! for I dare not 
stay after you are gone ; for my father will kill 
me miserably, if he knows what I have done.” 

And Theseus stood silent awhile ; for he was 
astonished and confounded by her beauty: but at 
last he said, “I cannot go home in peace, till I 
have seen and slain this Minotaur, and avenged io 
the deaths of the youths and maidens, and put an 
end to the terrors of my land.” 

u And will you kill the Minotaur ? How, 
then ? ” 

“ I know not, nor do I care : but he must be 
strong if he be too strong for me.” 

Then she loved him all the more, and said, 

“ But when you have killed him, how will you find 
your way out of the labyrinth ? ” 

“ I know not, neither do I care : but it must be 20 
a strange road, if I do not find it out before I 
have eaten up the monster’s carcase.” 

Then she loved him all the more, and said — 


240 


THE HEROES 


“ Fair youth, you are too bold ; but I can help 
you, weak as I am. I will give you a sword, and 
with that perhaps you may slay the beast ; and a 
clue of thread, and by that, perhaps, you may find 
your way out again. Only promise me that if you 
escape safe you will take me home with you to 
Greece ; for my father will surely kill me, if he 
knows what I have done.” 

Then Theseus laughed, and said, “Am I not 
io safe enough now ? ” And he hid the sword in his 
bosom, and rolled up the clue in his hand ; and 
then he swore to Ariadne, and fell down before 
her, and kissed her hands and her feet ; and she 
wept over him a long while, and then went away ; 
and Theseus lay down and slept sweetly. 

And when the evening came, the guards came j 
in and led him away to the labyrinth. 

And he went down into that doleful gulf, through 
winding paths among the rocks, under caverns, 

20 and arches, and galleries, and over heaps of fallen 
stone. And he turned on the left hand, and on 
the right hand, and went up and down till his 
head was dizzy ; but all the while he held his clue. 


THESEUS 


241 


For when he went in he had fastened it to a stone, 
and left it to unroll out of his hand as he went on; 
and it lasted him till he met the Minotaur, in a 
narrow chasm between black cliffs. 

And when he saw him he stopped awhile, for 
he had never seen so strange a beast. His body 
was a man’s : but his head was the head of a bull; 
and his teeth were the teeth of a lion, and with 
them he tore his prey. And when he saw Theseus 
he roared, and put his head down, and rushed io 
right at him. 

But Theseus stept aside nimbly, and as he 
passed by, cut him in the knee ; and ere he could 
turn in the narrow path, he followed him, and 
stabbed him again and again from behind, till the 
monster fled bellowing wildly ; for he never before 
had felt a wound. And Theseus followed him at 
full speed, holding the clue of thread in his left 
hand. 

Then on, through cavern after cavern, under 20 
dark ribs of sounding stone, and up rough glens 
and torrent-beds, among the sunless roots of Ida, 
and to the edge of the eternal snow, went they, 


242 


THE HEROES 


the hunter and the hunted, while the hills bellowed 
to the monster’s bellow. 

And at last Theseus came up with him, where 
he lay panting on a slab among the snow, and 
caught him by the horns, and forced his head back, 
and drove the keen sword through his throat. 

Then he turned, and went back limping and 
weary, feeling his way down by the clue of thread, 
till he came to the mouth of that doleful place ; 
io and saw waiting for him, whom but Ariadne ! 

And he whispered, “ It is done ! ” and showed 
her the sword ; and she laid her finger on her lips, 
and led him to the prison, and opened the doors, 
and .set all the prisoners free, while the guards lay 
sleeping heavily; for she had silenced them with 
wine. 

Then they fled to their ship together, and leapt 
on board, and hoisted up the sail ; and the night 
lay dark arotind them, so that they passed through 
20 Minos’ ships, and escaped all safe to Naxos ; and 
there Ariadne became Theseus’ wife. 


Nax'os. 


PART IV 


HOW THESEUS FELL BY HIS PRIDE 

But that fair Ariadne never came to Athens 
with her husband. Some say that Theseus left her 
sleeping on Naxos among the Cyclades ; and that 
Dionysos the wine-king found her, and took her 
up into the sky, as you shall see some day in a 
painting of old Titian’s — one of the most glorious 
pictures upon earth. And some say that Dionysos 
drove away Theseus, and took Ariadne from him 
by force : but however that may be, in his haste 
or in his grief, Theseus forgot to put up the white io 
sail. Now iEgeus his father sat and watched on 
Sunium day after day, and strained his old eyes 
across the sea to see the ship afar. And when he 

Di-o-ny'sos was a son of Zeus and god of the wine. He 
introduced the culture of the vine and was a patron of agricul- 
ture. He is also known as Bacchus. 

243 


244 


THE HEROES 


saw the black sail, and not the white one, he gave 
up Theseus for dead, and in his grief he fell into 
the sea, and died ; so it is called the iEgean to 
this day. 

And now Theseus was king of Athens, and he 
guarded it and ruled it well. 

For he killed the bull of Marathon, which had 
killed Androgeos, Minos’ son ; and he drove back 
the famous Amazons, the warlike women of the 
io East, when they came from Asia, and conquered 
all Hellas, and broke into Athens itself. But 
Theseus stopped them there, and conquered them, 
and took Hippolyte their queen to be his wife. 
Then he went out to fight against the Lapithai, 
and Peirithoos their famous king : but when the 
two heroes came face to face they loved each 
other, and embraced, and became noble friends ; 
so that the friendship of Theseus and Peirithoos 
is a proverb even now. And he gathered (so the 
20 Athenians say) all the boroughs of the land to- 
gether, and knit them into one strong people, while 
before they were all parted and weak : and many 
Mar'a-thon. Hip-pol'y-te. Pei-rith'o-os. 


THESEUS 


245 


another wise thing he did, so that his people 
honoured him after he was dead, for many a hun- 
dred years, as the father of their freedom and their 
laws. And six hundred years after his death, in 
the famous fight at Marathon, men said that they 
saw the ghost of Theseus, with his mighty brazen 
club, fighting in the van of battle against the in- 
vading Persians, for the country which he loved. 
And twenty years after Marathon his bones (they 
say) were found in Scyros, an isle beyond the sea ; io 
and they were bigger than the bones of mortal man. 
So the Athenians brought them home in triumph ; 
and all the people came out to welcome them ; 
and they built over them a noble temple, and 
adorned it with sculptures and paintings ; in which 
we are told all the noble deeds of Theseus, and 
the Centaurs, and the Lapithai, and the Amazons ; 
and the ruins of it are standing still. 

But why did they find his bones in Scyros? 
Why did he not die in peace at Athens, and sleep 20 
by his father’s side ! Because after his triumph 
he grew proud, and broke the laws of God and 
Scy'ros. 


246 


THE HEROES 


man. And one thing worst of all he did, which 
brought him to his grave with sorrow. For he 
went down (they say beneath the earth) with that 
bold Peirithoos his friend to help him to carry off 
Persephone, the queen of the world below. But 
Peirithoos was killed miserably, in the dark fire- 
kingdoms under ground ; and Theseus was chained 
to a rock in everlasting pain. And there he sat 
for years, till Heracles the mighty came down to 
io bring up the three-headed dog who sits at Pluto’s 
gate. So Heracles loosed him from his chain, and 
brought him up to the light once more. 

But when he came back his people had forgotten 
him, and Castor and Polydeuces, the sons of the 
wondrous Swan, had invaded his land, and carried 
off his mother Aithra for a slave, in revenge for a 
grievous wrong. 

So the fair land of Athens was wasted, and 
another king ruled it, who drove out Theseus 
20 shamefully, and he fled across the sea to Scyros. 
And there he lived in sadness, in the house of 
Lucomedes the king, till Lucomedes killed him 
Per-seph'o-ne. Lu-co-me'des. 


THESEUS 


247 


by treachery, and there was an end of all his 
labours. 

So it is still, my children, and so it will be to 
the end. In those old Greeks, and in us also, all 
strength and virtue come from God. But if men 
grow proud and self-willed, and misuse God’s fair 
gifts, He lets them go their own ways, and fall 
pitifully, that the glory may be His alone. God 
help us all, and give us wisdom, and courage to 
do noble deeds ! but God keep pride from us when io 
we have done them, lest we fall, and come to 
shame ! 


As many of the Greek gods are better known under the 
names by which they were worshipped by the Romans, the 
following list is given : — 


Greek Divinities 
Zeus(zus) 

Hera 

Apollo (Phoebus Apollo) 

Athene (Pallas Athene) 

Poseidon 

Aphrodite 

Hephaistos 

Ares 

Hermes 

Demeter 

Dionysos 


Latin Names 
Jupiter or Jove 
Juno 

Minerva 

Neptune 

Venus 

Vulcan 

Mars 

Mercury 

Ceres 

Bacchus 


248 


VOCABULARY OF PROPER NAMES 


RULES FOR PRONUNCIATION IN ENGLISH 


(1) ae, ai , and oe equal e. (2) c before e, i, y, ae, oe, ai 
equals s. (3) g before e , i , y, oe, ae, ai equals j. (4) ch equals k. 


Ab-syr'tus 

Ai-thal'i-des 

A 'res 

A-by'dos 

Ai'thra 

A-re'te 

A-char'nai 

Al-cin'o-us 

Ar'gives 

Ach-e-lo'us 

Al'o-pe 

Ar'go-nauts 

A-chil'les 

Am-phi-tri'te 

Ar'gus 

Acri'si-us 

Am'y-cus 

A-ri-ad'ne 

iE'as 

A-nau'ros 

Ar-i-mas'pi 

TE'geus 

An-cai'os 

As-cle'pi-us 

iE-ge'an 

An-dro'ge-os 

Atli'a-mas 

iE-ne'as 

An-drom'e-da 

A-tlie'ne 

jE-ol'id 

An-the-mu'sa 

A'thos 

AS'o-lus 

An-ti-cle'ia 

At'ti-ca 

AS'son 

Aph'e-tai 

Bac'chse 

JE'thi-ops 

A-phid'nai 

Bel-ler'o-phon 

Ai-an'tes 

Aph-ro-di'te 

Bi-thyn'i-an 

Ai-e'tes 

Ar-gan'thus 

249 

Boe'be 


250 THE HEROES 


Bce-o'ti-a 

(be-o'shi-a, 

Bos'pho-rus 

Bri'mo 

Brit-o-mar'tis 

Bu'tes 

Cae'neus 

Cal'a-is 

Cal-li'o-pe 

Cal'pe 

Cal'y-don 

Cas-si-o-pce'ia 

Ca'si-us 

Cas-si-ter'i-des 

Cau'ca-sus 

Cen'taur 

Ce'os 

Ce'pheus (se'fus) 
Ce-phi'sus 
Cer'cy-on 
(ser'shi-on) 
Ce'yx 

Chal-ci'o-pe 

Chal'y-bes 

Cha-ryb'dis 

Chei'ron 

Chem'mis 

Cher-so-nese' 

Chi-mae'ra 


Ci'con 

Cim-me'ri-an 

Cir'ce 

Ci-thae'ron 

Cle-o-pa'tra 

Cno'sus (no'sus) 

Coc'a-lus 

Col'chi 

Col'chis 

Co-pa'ic 

Cor-cy'ra 

Cor-y-ne'tes 

Crom'my-on 

Cu-tai'a 

Cyc'la-des 

Cy-clo'pes 

Cy-re'ne 

Cyth'nus 

Cyz'i-cus 

Daid'a-los 

Da-mas'tes 

Dan'a-e 

Del'phi 

De-me'ter 

Deu-ca'li-on 

Dic'tys 

Di-o-ny'sos 

Di-os-cu'ri 

Do-do'na 


E-chid'na 

E-chin'a-des 

E-leu'sis 

En-cel'a-dus 

E'os 

Ep-i-dau'rus 

E-rin'ny-es 

Eu-bce'an 

Eu-pbor'bus 

Eu-ri'pus 

Eu-ro'tas 

Eu-ryd'i-ce 

Eu-ris'theus 

Eux'ine 

Gal-a-tse'a 

Ge'ry-on 

Ha'des 

Hae-mo'ni-a 

Hal-cy'o-ne 

Ha-li-ac'mon 

Hel'le 

Hel-le'nes 

Hel'les-pont 

He-phais'tos 

He'ra 

Her'a-cles 

Her'mes 

Her-mi'o-ne 

Her'pe 


Hes-per'i-des 

Hes'per-us 

Hip-pol'y-te 

Hyd're-a 

Hy'las 

Hy-met'tus 

Hy-per-bo're-an 

Hy-per-bo're-i 

I-be'ri-an 

I-ca'ri-an 

Ic'a-rus 

I'da 

I-da'li-an 

I'das 

Id'mon 

I-er'ne 

Il'i-ad 

Il'i-um 

I'no 

I-ob'a-tes 

I-o-la'us 

I-ol'cus 

I-o'ni-an 

I'o-pe 

Ith'a-ca 

Is 'ter 

Ke'krops 

Ker'ku-on 

Lac-e-dae'mon 


VOCABULARY 251 


La-co'ni-an 

La'don 

Lap'i-thai 

La-ris'sa 

Lem'nos 

Li-burn'i-a 

Lib'y-a 

Lil-y-bse'um 

Lo'cri 

Lu-co-me'des 

Ly'cus 

Lyn'ceus 

Mae-ot'id 

Ma'le-a 

Mar'a-thon 

Me-de'ia 

Me-du'sa 

Meg'a-ra 

Me-lai'na 

Me-le-a'ger 

Me-tlia'na 

Mi'nos 

Min'o-taur 

Min'u-ai 

Min'u-an 

Mop-sus 

My-ce'nae 

Mys'i-an (mizh'i 

Nau-sith'o-us 


Nax'os 

Ne'leus 

Nes'tor 

Nu-mid'i-an 

O-dys'seus 

Od'ys-sey 

CE'ta 

O-i'leus 

O-lym'pus 

Or-chom'e-nus 

Or'pheus 

Pag'a-sai 

Pal-lan'tid 

Pal'las 

Pan-da're-os 

Pan-di'on 

Par'nes 

Pau-sa'ni-as 

Pei-rith'o-os 

Pe-las'gi 

Pe'leus 

Pe'li-as 

Pe'li-on 

Pel-o-pon-nese' 

Pel-o-pon-ne 'sus 

Pe-nel'o-pe 

Pe-ne'us 

Pen-tel'i-cus 

Per'dix 


-an) 


252 


THE HEROES 


Per-i-phe'tes 

Pro-porPtis 

Tau'ri 

Per-seph'o-ne 

PsyPli (siPli) 

TePa-mon 

Per'seus (per'sus or 

Riph-aPan 

Te-lem'a-chus 

per'se-us) 

Rhod'o-pe 

Te'nos 

PhaPa 

Rhyn'da-cus 

Tem'pe 

Phse-a'ces 

SaPa-inis 

Teu-ta'men-es 

Pha'si-an (fa'zhi-an) 

Sa'mos 

Thebes 

Pha'sis 

Sam-o-thra'ce 

Ther-mop'y-lse 

PhPneus (fPnus or 

San-ga'ri-us 

The'seus (the'sus or 

fin'e-us) 

Sa-ron'ic 

the'se-us) 

Phoe'bus 

ScPa-thos 

Tlies-sa'li-an 

Phol'o-e 

ScPron 

The'tis 

Phce-nic'i-an 

ScyPla 

Tkra'ce 

(fe-nish'i-an) 

Scy'ros 

Thra'ci-an 

Phrix'us 

Se-IPnos 

Thri-a'si-an (zhi-an) 

Phy-tal'id 

Sem f e-le 

Thym'bus 

Phyt'a-lus 

Se'pi-us 

Thyn'e-is 

Pin'dus 

Ser-bo'ni-an 

TPphys 

Pit/theus 

Se-rPphos 

TPryns 

Pit-u-o-camp'tes 

SPnis 

TPtan 

Plu'to 

Si-no'pe 

TrPton 

PoPlux 

Stry'mon 

Trip-toPe-mus 

Pol-y-dec'tes 

Su'ni-um 

Troe-ze'ne 

Pol-y-deu'ces 

Syr'tes 

Tyr-rhe'ni-a 

Po-sePdon 

Syr'tis 

Ze'tes 

Pro-crus'tes 

Ta'lus 

Zeus (zus) 

Proe'tus 

Tan'a-is 

Pro-me'theus 

Tar-tes'sus 



MACMILLAN’S 

POCKET SERIES OF ENGLISH 
CLASSICS 

UNIFORM IN SIZE AND BINDING 
Cloth ------ 25 Cents Each 


B. A. Heydrick, State Normal School, Millersville, Pa. 

“ I know of no edition that can compare with yours in attractiveness 
and cheapness. So far as I have examined it the editor’s work has 
been judiciously performed. But well-edited texts are easy to find: 
you have done something new in giving us a beautiful book, one that 
will teach pupils to love and care for books ; and, which seems to me 
quite as important, you have made an edition which does not look 
4 school-booky.’ ” 

Oscar D. Robinson, Principal High School, Albany, N.Y. 

“ The books possess all the excellencies claimed for them, — scholarly 
annotation, convenience of form, beautiful open pages, attractive bind- 
ing, and remarkably low price. I shall take pleasure in recommending 
them for use in our school.” 

S. H. Bundell, Principal Girls’ High School, Lancaster, Pa. 

“ The publishers may justly be proud of the clear type, convenient 
size, and beautiful binding of the book.” 

George McK. Bain, Principal High School, Norfolk, Va. 

“ Handsomer volumes for school use I have never seen. They are 
well edited, clearly printed, and beautifully bound, while the price is 
remarkably low.” 

Professor Charles M. Curry, Indiana State Normal School. 

“ You have hit upon a splendid form for this series, and the price will 
certainly attract the attention of any one who has been looking for good 
material at a 4 good ’ price.” 

C. N. Kendall, Superintendent of Schools, Indianapolis. 

“ The form in which you send out these little volumes is very 
attractive.” 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 


ENGLISH CLASSICS 


Addison’s Sir Roger de Coverley. Edited by Zelma Gray, East Side 
High School, Saginaw, Mich. 

Browning’s Shorter Poems. Edited by Franklin T. Baker, Teachers 
College, New York City. 

Mrs. Browning’s Poems (Selections from). Edited by Heloise E. 
Hershey. 

Burke’s Speech on Conciliation. Edited by S. C. Newsom, Manual 
Training High School, Indianapolis, Ind. 

Byron’s Childe Harold. Edited by A. J. George, High School, Newton, 
Mass. 

Byron’s Shorter Poems. Edited by Ralph Hartt Bowles, Instructor 
in English in The Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H. 

Carlyle’s Essay on Burns, with Selections. Edited by Willard C. 
Gore, Armour Institute, Chicago, 111. 

Chaucer’s Prologue to the Book of the Tales of Canterbury, the Knight’s 
Tale, and the Nun’s Priest’s Tale. Edited by Andrew Ingraham, 
Late Headmaster of the Swain Free School, New Bedford, Mass. 

Coleridge’s The Ancient Mariner. Edited by T. F. Huntingion, Leland 
Stanford Junior University. 

Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans. Edited by W. K. Wickes, Principal of 
the High School, Syracuse, N.Y. 

Cooper’s The Deerslayer. 

De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium Eater. Edited by Arthur 
Beatty, University of Wisconsin. 

Dryden’s Palamon and Arcite. Edited by Percival Chubb, Vice- 
Principal Ethical Culture Schools, New York City. 

Early American Orations, 1760-1824. Edited by Louie R. Heller, 
Instructor in English in the De Witt Clinton High School, New York 
City. 

Epoch-making Papers in United States History. Edited by M. S. Brown, 
New York University. 

Franklin’s Autobiography. 

George Eliot’s Silas Mamer. Edited by E. L. Gulick, Lawrenceville 
School, Lawrenceville, N.J. 

Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield. Edited by H. W. Boynton, Phillips 
Academy, Andover, Mass. 

Hawthorne’s Twice-Told Tales. Edited by R. C. Gaston, Richmond 
Hill High School, Borough of Queens, New York City. 

Irving’s Alhambra. Edited by Alfred M. Hitchcock, Public High 
School, Hartford, Conn. 


ENGLISH CLASSICS 


Irving’s Life of Goldsmith. Edited by Gilbert Sykes Blakely, 
Teacher of English in the Morris High School, New York City. 

Irving s Sketch Book. 

Jonathan Edwards’ Sermons (Selections from). Edited by Professor 
H. N. Gardiner, of Smith College. 

Longfellow’s Evangeline. Edited by Lewis B. Semple, Commercial 
High School, Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Lowell’s Vision of Sir Launfal. Edited by Herbert E. Bates, Manual 
Training High School, Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Macaulay’s Essay on Addison. Edited by C. W. French, Principal of 
Hyde Park High School, Chicago, 111. 

Macaulay’s Essay on Clive. Edited by J. W. Pearce, Assistant Pro- 
fessor of English in Tulane University. 

Macaulay’s Essay on Johnson. Edited by William Schuyler, Assist- 
ant Principal of the St. Louis High School. 

Macaulay’s Essay on Milton. Edited by C. W. French. 

Macaulay’s Essay on Warren Hastings. Edited by Mrs. M. J. Frick, 

Los Angeles, Cal. 

Milton’s Comus, Lycidas, and Other Poems. Edited by Andrew J. 
George. 

Milton’s Paradise Lost. Books I and II. Edited by W. I. Crane, 
Steele High School, Dayton, O. 

Palgrave’s Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics. 

Plutarch’s Lives of Caesar, Brutus, and Antony. Edited by Martha 
Brier, Teacher of English in the Polytechnic High School, Oakland, 
Cal. 

Poe’s Poems. Edited by Charles W. Kent, Linden Kent Memorial 
School, University of Virginia. 

Poe’s Prose Tales (Selections from). 

Pope’s Homer’s Iliad. Edited by Albert Smyth, Head Professor of 
English Language and Literature, Central High School, Philadelphia, 
Pa. 

Ruskin’s Sesame and Lilies, and King of the Golden River. Edited by 
Herbert E. Bates. 

Scott’s Ivanhoe. Edited by Alfred M. Hitchcock. 

Scott’s Lady of the Lake. Edited by Elizabeth A. Packard, Oakland, 
Cal. 

Scott’s Lay of the Last Minstrel. Edited by Ralph H. Bowles. 

Scott’s Marmion. Edited by George B. Aiton, State Inspector of High 
Schools for Minnesota. 


ENGLISH CLASSICS 


Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Edited by Charles Robert Gaston. 

Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Edited by L. A. Sherman, Professor of English 
Literature in the University of Nebraska. 

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Edited by George W. Hufford and Lois 
G. Hufford, High School, Indianapolis, Ind. 

Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Edited by Charlotte W. Under- 
wood, Lewis Institute, Chicago, 111. 

Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Edited by C. W. French. 

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Edited bv Edward P. Morton, Assist- 
ant Professor of English in the University of Indiana. 

Shelley and Keats (Selections from). Edited by S. C. Newsom. 

Southern Poets (Selections from). Edited by W. L. Weber, Professor of 
English Literature in Emory College, Oxford, Ga. 

Spenser’s Faerie Queen, Book I. Edited by George Armstrong 
Wauchope, Professor of English in the South Carolina College. 

Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Edited by H. A. Vance, Professor of 
English in the University of Nashville. 

Tennyson’s The Princess. Edited by WlLSO'N Farrand, Newark 
Academy, Newark, N.J. 

Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. Edited by W. T. Vlymen, Principal of 
Eastern District High School, Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Tennyson’s Shorter Poems. Edited by Charles Read Nutter, In- 
structor in English at Harvard University ; sometime Master in Eng- 
lish at Groton School. 

John Woolman’s Journal. 

Wordsworth’s Shorter Poems. Edited by Edward Fulton, Assistant 
Professor of Rhetoric in the University of Illinois. 

Old English Ballads. Edited by Professor William D. Armes, of the 
University of California. 

Kingsley’s The Heroes. Edited by Charles A. McMurry. 

Macaulay’s Poems. Edited by Professor Franklin T. Baker. 

IN PREPARATION 

Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables. Edited by Clyde Furst, of 
Teachers College, Columbia University. 

Macaulay’s Lays of Ancient Rome. Edited by Professor Franklin T. 
Baker. 


THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 






















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